A HG Musical: The Secrets Of Belli Castle
by pokemypocky
Summary: Katie and Fiona hated eachother, until the day they were both trapped in a demented world, inside the walls of Belli Castle. As they face many demented challenges, they unravel secrets about both the castle occupants, as well as themselves...
1. OVERTURE WHAT IS THIS FEELING?

_**I do not own "Haunting Ground" or any of the characters in this story, except Katie.**_

_**I also do not own any of the music in this story, as it is written like a musical.**_

_**But I did have to change some of the lyrics to fit the story.**_

"**A Haunting Ground Musical: The Secrets Of Belli Castle"**

Chapter One

OVERTURE / WHAT IS THIS FEELING?

----------------

"AAAAHHHHH!"

Katie screamed as she shot upright in bed, breathing heavily as she stared wide eyed at the vanity mirror that was across the room, in front of her bed. She saw that she was sweating, even though she had a light sheet over herself. When she was able to collect her thoughts and remember that she was in her own apartment, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She felt something wet wash across her hand, and she looked down to see that her dog, Hewie, was licking her. She smiled. "Morning, boy." She bet him on the head, and le placed his hand on the side of the bed next to her. "You know what day it is, don't you?" she asked. Then, she pulled the sheet off of her and placed her feet on the floor, standing up. She walked over to the window, where the curtains were closed. She was about to pull the blinds open, but first looked back at Hewie. Despite being just a dog, his brown eyes held so much history in them--a history that she would have tried to forget long ago, had it not been for Fiona.

Katie shook off the memory, as it was too tragic. Yet, her mind and heart seemed to be singing together, a melody that only she could hear as she looked at Hewie.

_**KATIE: "A faithful dog, indeed. You're just as loyal as you were then. Will you still remember when even I, myself, and dead?"**_

Katie turned her attention back to her curtains, reached up, and pulled them open, letting the blinding sunlight into her small bedroom.

**oOo**

_[As Katie opens the curtains, the overture from "The Phantom Of The Opera" begins to play. The scene changes from the apartment to outside the window, where everything appears to dissolve and changes to a scene from five years earlier, at Katie's high school.]_

**oOo**

As the last bell of the school year rang, all of the students bounded out of their class rooms, yelping and shouting for joy. What a great relief to know that the school year was finally over!

After everyone had left class room, Katie and her friend Jennifer walked at a fairly quick pace out of the room. "Finally!" Jennifer exclaimed. "Summer vacation is here!"

"I know! Where are you going for your vacation this year?" Katie asked as they headed out the main doors.

"I'm note sure, probably Jamaica!"

Katie laughed out loud.

"What? It's nice to dream, isn't it?"

Before Katie could answer, she spotted the every so familiar young woman a few feet in front of her. She hadn't noticed Katie because she was busy talking with some of her other friends, but it wouldn't be too long before their eyes met.

Jessica also saw the girl, and gulped. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Fine," Katie replied in a low voice.

"Remember, you have to be nice her. Your dad said so."

Katie sighed. "I know… but she's so… snobby. And she lets me know it all the time!"

"Well, unless you want to be grounded all summer, you'd better try to be nice," Jennifer pointed out.

The truth was Katie didn't really care what her father thought because… she hated him, too. He was a no good drunk, and she could hardly stand living with him. However, she wouldn't have to deal with him for too much longer, as she had made some secret summer plans of her own.

At that moment, the girl turned her head, and her smile abruptly left her face as her eyes met with Katie's.

Katie took a deep breath as she stepped forward to greet the girl. "Hey Fiona," she said in a low tone of voice.

"Hello Katie," Fiona replied in a similar, yet a little more upper-class manner.

Katie moved her tongue around her cheek, trying to think of something to say. "So… got any plans for the summer?"

"Yes, actually. My parents and I are going to our country house by the beach."

"Cool… When are you leaving?"

"This afternoon."

"Where's your house?"

"By the beach, a few miles away."

This surprised Katie, but she hid her reaction. "You mean… along the back roads by the mountains?"

"Yes… Why?"

That was the rout she was planning to take for her little vacation. "No reason," she lied.

And then, they were silent, and stood there staring at each other with annoyance in their eyes.

Fiona sighed out of frustration. "What do you want, Katie?"

"I was just saying hi… Man, what's up with you?"

"I don't understand why you're being so friendly all of a sudden."

"At least I'm nicer than you," Katie snapped.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Fiona snapped back.

"You figure it out!" Katie yelled.

By this time, there was a small crowd of other students watching from a safe distance.

_[At this point, the song "What Is This Feeling?" from the musical "Wicked" begins to play, and the two girls begin singing to one another.]_

_**KATIE: What is this feeling, so sudden and new…**_

_**FIONA: I felt the moment I laid eyes on you?**_

_**KATIE: My pulse is rushing…**_

_**FIONA: My head is reeling…**_

_**KATIE: My face is flushing…**_

_**BOTH: What is this feeling? Fervid as a flame. Does it have a name? Yes… Loathing! Unadulterated loathing.**_

_**FIONA: For your face…**_

_**KATIE: You're voice…**_

_**FIONA: You're clothing…**_

_**BOTH: Let's just say I loath it all! Every little trait however small makes my very flesh begin to crawl with simple, utter loathing. There's a strange exhilaration in such total detestation. It's so pure, so strong. Though I do admit, it came on fast. Still, I do believe that it can last. And I will be loathing--for forever--loathing--truly, deeply--loathing you… MY WHOLE LIFE LONG!**_

_[Immediately after the song ends, Katie and Fiona each turn on their heals and walk away from each other in a snit, and the crowd of students disperses and leaves the scene.]_

After the bus dropped Katie off at her house, she marched up to the front door and was about to turn the knob, but heard her father grunt loudly, and something break on the inside. She turned around to see that the bus had already driven off, so there was no going back now. She quickly turned the knob and ran up the stairs that were directly in front of the door. But before she could make it all the way up to her room…

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" her father yelled from behind her.

She turned around to see her father, standing at the bottom of the stairs with a broken beer bottle in his hand. "I was at school."

"You're late!" he yelled.

"Only by twenty minutes, it's no big deal."

He pointed his finger at her. "From now on, I want you to come home right after school. Got it?!"

"I had a good reason! There was a meeting the mess hall, and everyone had to attend--including me!"

They stared at each other with a spark of anger flying between them.

"I'm going to my room," Katie said before she turned and headed back up the stairs.

"You just remember our agreement!" her father yelled. "The minute you graduate, you're getting a job, and then you're outa here!"

Katie slammed the door to her room and locked it behind her. "I'd like nothing more, believe me." She rushed over to her bed, bent down to reach under it, and pulled out her backpack. She unzipped it to make sure that everything was still packed, in case her father may have found it while she was at school. Inside was a wallet that held about a hundred dollars, some clothes, her toothbrush, and a letter from her mother's sister in Maryland, where she would be heading.

She was going to leave tonight.

**oOo**

Katie's father was passed out on the couch downstairs, so she figured that now would be the best time to leave. As she was changing in front of her mirror, she remembered the awkward mark on the back of her shoulder, and picked up a small hand held mirror, turned around and looked through the mirror to see the mark's reflection in the larger mirror. She thought it was a birth mark, but it was in an awkward shape, and it tended to flare up from time to time when she got angry, mostly when she was around that stupid Fiona Belli!

She wore a white tank top with a pair of khaki pants and a white knitted sweater to keep warm, as it was now six thirty in the morning. She slung her back pack over her shoulder and walked over to the window beside her bed. She didn't bother leaving a note for her father, as she could care less about what he thought. She wouldn't be coming back.

She opened the window and looked down at the ground, which was only a few feet down. She threw her back pack out, then carefully climbed out, placing her feet on the outside wall, gripping the edge of the window sill. With a deep breath, she pushed herself off of the wall and landed on her feet, swiftly grabbed her back pack, and took off running through the yard until she reached the bare road. She didn't really know which direction to go in, so she randomly chose to go in the right direction, not looking back.

After a half hour of running, Katie had tired herself out, and was now walking. The sun was hidden by the clouds, and it looked like it was going to rain.

As she walked up the hill, a strange sight came into view. It looked like a file of thick logs had been piled up in the middle of the road, making a wall. When she reached the top of the hill, Katie stopped and gasped at the horrific sight. A small, red car had rammed into the wall, it's windows shattered. A woman who had sitting in the front seat and been thrown through the front window, and was lying on the hood of the engine, obviously dead. The driver was a man, leaning back in his seat… with a strange looking knife stabbed in his chest.

Katie recognized the two right away. They were Ugo and Ayla Belli--Fiona's parents.

She ran over to the care, careful not to touch anything as she peeked into the back seat. Fiona was not there, but it appeared as though someone had been sitting in that seat. She walked over to the driver's side, and looked in puzzlement and horror at Ugo Belli, with a bloody, strange looking dagger in his chest. She had to cover her mouth, as it would have made her sick otherwise. She was beginning to wonder if maybe she should run home and call the police.

As she examined the car further, she noticed a set of… footprints in the mud along the side of the road. They appeared to be leading into the woods. "Maybe Fiona survived and went to get help," she thought to herself as she took off running in the direction the footprints were leading.

**oOo**

Katie stared up in awe at the cathedral-like castle. The place looked remarkably big, and there were lights brightening it's many windows. The main double doors had been left open, so Katie slowly walked inside, looking around. She appeared to be walking into the court yard, but all of the flowers and bushed were wilted, or near death. "I wonder if there's a chance I could find a phone here," she said to herself.

Then, a loud creaking noise echoed behind her, and she whirled around just in time to see the doors slam shut, and a click was heard.

Katie ran over to it and pulled on the handles, but it was no use. The doors had locked. She turned back around to face the castle.

"BARK! BARK! BARK!"

She jumped at the sound of the dog barking, and jerked her head around until she stopped the white German shepherd, crouching down next to a tree, staring back at her with large, brown eyes. She held out her hand to calm the dog down. "Easy, boy… I won't hurt you."

The dog got up, growing, and Katie tensed up. With one more loud bark, the dog took off bounding away from her and the tree. Katie watched as it ran until it came to a dead end wall, then appeared to head down a flight of stairs that had been built into the ground.

She took off running after him.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** I know that this first chapter doesn't seem like very much, but there's more of the story to be told yet. This story is basically a re-write of Haunting Ground, but with a major twist that you'll only find out about at the very end… Also, I should point out that this "re-write" is not perfect, and I'm not going into too much detail when it comes to the puzzle solving. This is being written mainly for story... And it's written like a musical, because I think that Haunting Ground would make a cool musical, but there won't be a song in every chapter, just where I think there should be one... I know it seems strange, but please bare with me! Thanks!

OVERTURE: "from The Phantom Of The Opera"

WHAT IS THIS FEELING?: from "Wicked"


	2. I REMEMBER STRANGER THAN YOU DREAMT IT

Chapter Two

I REMEMBER/STRANGER THAN YOU DREAMT IT

----------------

Katie hid in the shadows, watching in horrific astonishment as the large… _thing_ proceeded to chop his meat on a small, yet bloody wooden table. There was a whole rack of what appeared to me canine carcasses in the far corner of the dark butchery room. The dog from earlier had vanished in the shadows.

This person--that was what she decided to call it--had bald head, large, beady eyes, and a lack of good dental hygiene, as she could make out my his brown teeth. The giant, strong looking thing was wearing old, raggedy clothes, and he was mostly filthy. She watched from a safe distance as he picked up the butcher knife on the table, held it above a slab of meat, and yelled hoarsely as the knife slammed down onto the meat, severing it, then using the knife to throw with one half of it into a nearby bucket of… bloody looking water. Katie had to cover her mouth and nose in order to repress the urge to vomit.

Then, the creature, happy with his work, hobbled over to a corner of the room, and knelt down in front of a small cage. There was something inside, protected by a cream colored sheet. The creature reached his large hand through one of the bars to touch it whatever was inside, but pulled back. He tried again, but the thing under the sheet moved. With this movement, Katie was able to make out more clearly that it was a person in the cage, as two long, pale legs were sticking out.

A light night flash, followed by a sound of thunder came from the window nearby, and the large creature yelled with fright as he held his hand above his head to protect himself. He jumped up to his feet, then quickly dashed for the door of the room.

Katie held perfectly still where she was hiding, so that she would not attract any attention, and waited until the thing had run back up the stairs where she had just come from. Then, she rushed over to the cage, and was shocked at who was inside. There was Fiona Belli--her arch rival--sleeping on the floor.

"Fiona!" Katie said in a horrified whisper. "Fiona, wake up!"

Fiona stirred in her sleep for a moment, they her blue eyes popped open as she screamed, jolting upright inside the cage, breathing heavily.

Katie gripped the bars. "Are you okay?"

Fiona looked at her in bewilderment. "… Katie?" she asked in a low voice. She looked around in bewilderment. "Where are we?" she asked, frightened.

"We're inside some big castle," Katie replied.

Fiona's wandering eyes fell upon the padlock on the cage, which was now broken. She reached her slim hands between the bars to fumble with is a bit before removing it from the door, opening it, and stepping out, holding the sheet around her.

Katie stood up and raised an eyebrow. "Um… Where are your clothes?"

Fiona looked down at herself, then gulped. "I don't know," she replied as she shook her head.

Katie took her hand. "Come on. Let's go find a phone."

"… Right." They eagerly headed for the stairs, but stopped when they heard a small noise behind them. They turned around and glanced her the table, where they thought the sound had come from.

A pair of sharp, white teeth was visible, and a low growl was emitting from them, followed by a loud bark as the dog jumped out from under the table, leaped over them, and ran up the stairs.

The girls screamed as they stumbled back onto the ground. Katie stood up first, then helped Fiona up. "It's all right," she said. "It was just a dog."

Fiona shivered as she took each breath. Then, as she looked around further, she noticed something on the floor. "What's that?" She bent down to pick up the small strip of brown leather that appeared to be a broken collar.

She showed it to Katie, who read the name on the tag in bewilderment. "Hewie."

They both looked back up the dark stairs, and Katie gulped. "Come on. We've gotta get you out of here." She wrapped one arm around Fiona ans walked with her up the stairs.

**oOo**

When they emerged from the stairs in the ground, they found that the air was a little warmer, and Fiona quickly stopped shivering. Katie asked, "Where in the world did your clothes go?!"

"I told you, I don't know!" She held up her hand. "The last thing I need right now is for you to bother me with stupid questions!"

Katie placed her hands on her hips. "Well, _excuse_ me! I only helped to rescue you from… from… whatever that room is! From what I saw, you could have been ravioli by now! Who knows that kind of stuff that big guy would have done to you!"

"From the looks of things down there, it only likes dogs," Fiona pointed out grimly.

Katie shivered with disgust. "Dog meat… Eewww…"

The two ran back through the dead court yard, and ran up a flight of brick stairs that let to a small door. Fiona pulled the door open, and the girls went inside.

The room appeared to be a small study, complete with a large bed, a dresser, a work desk, and a very strange looking portrait of an old man with now hair, except on the sides of his head, with a rather depressing look on his face. The constant ticking of the grandfather clock in the room was quite annoying. There was also another door that appeared to lead out of the room. Just as Fiona was about to turn the knob, Katie jumped with fright. "Who are you?" she asked. Fiona slowly turned around, and they were both greeted by a rather strange looking woman. She was wearing an old fashioned maid's outfit, and kept her long hair in a strange looking hair style, with it parted into two sections, each one twisted at her shoulders.

She stared back at them with a pale faced smile, and gestured to the bed. "I've gathered some clothes for you," she said in a monotone voice before slowly walking away from the bed, heading for the door.

"Wait, don't go," Fiona said.

The woman turned to look at them again.

"Um, excuse me, but where are we? And… how I get here?"

The woman said nothing, but looking up at the old man's portrait. "Yes, Master. We will keep her here for a while. I will make sure she stays comfortable."

Katie couldn't help but notice that the woman was giving her full attention to Fiona, and not her. It wasn't so much because of jealousy, but this woman acted more like a robot than a human. She tapped Fiona's shoulder, and Fiona turned around to acknowledge her as the woman slowly resumed walking toward the door.

"Fiona, what happened to you?" she asked.

Fiona shook her head. "I'm not really sure…"

_[At this time, the song "I Remember/Stranger Than You Dreamt It" from "The Phantom Of The Opera" begins to play, and Fiona starts singing along with it.]_

_**FIONA: I remember is was dark… Very dark, and cold, and lonely outside. I was riding in the car, and in the road, there was a wall… and my the wall, there was a man…**_

Fiona gazed off for a moment, as her memories and thoughts began to collect.

_**FIONA: Who was that shape in the shadows? Who was that man in the hat?**_

"Man in a hat?" Katie asked.

Fiona nodded. "Yes. There was a man in a hat, and--"

The strange woman stopped in her tracks, quickly turned on one heal, and gave Katie an enraged look, as if noticing her for the first time. Her reaction frightened the two girls.

_**DANIELLA: DAMN YOU! You little prying Pandora!**_ _**You little wench - is this where you wanted to be?! CURSE YOU! You little lying Delilah! You little viper - Now you cannot ever be free. Damn you! Curse you!**_

The girls stepped back in fright, but the woman calmed down, and continued singing.

_**DANIELLA: Stranger than you dreamt it, can you even dare to look or bear to think of me: this loathsome gargoyle who's incomplete, but secretly yearns for Heaven. Secretly, Secretly…**_

She gestured up to the portrait on the wall.

_**DANIELLA: But ladies, fear can turn to love. You'll learn to see - to find the man behind the monster: this… repulsive carcass, who seems a beast, but secretly dreams of beauty, secretly, secretly…**_

She looked at Katie once more, but this time, was much more calm. "… Katie," she whispered.

Katie's eyes widened. "How do you know my name?"

The woman did not respond, but proceeded to open the door, and stand in the open doorway. "Well, I must return. The master of this castle has been expecting you…" With that, she closed the door behind her.

Katie gulped. "Get dressed!" she exclaimed to Fiona. "We're getting out of here!"

**oOo**

Katie turned around as Fiona changed into her old fashioned clothes: a white long sleeved blouse with a dark brown silk skirt, knee high socks with matching brown boots. "Are you sure you don't remember anything?" Katie asked.

"Let me think…" Fiona became lost in thought. Then, she gasped. "Wait a minute… I remember being in the car with…"

Katie's eyes widened as she instantly remember the car crash sight.

Fiona noticed her reaction. "What is it?"

Katie pressed her lips together. "Fiona, while I was walking up the road, I found your parents car…" She looked away, trying to find the words, and unable to look at Fiona's face. "Someone had built this wall in the middle of the road, made entirely out of logs. The car had crashed into it…"

"… What about my parents?!" Fiona exclaimed.

Katie shook her head. "They… They were there, too, but…" She made herself look at Fiona, who now had a horrified look on her face. "I'm sorry… I'm almost sure this whole thing was set up by whoever lives in this castle. I mean, the log wall was obviously man made. You must have been knocked unconscious and abducted from the car."

Fiona covered her mouth and closed her eyes, trying to fight back a sob.

"But what we need to focus on right now is getting out of here. We'll worry about the rest later… Please try not to cry."

Fiona took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and nodded.

"Good. Let's go," Katie said as she opened the door.

* * *

I REMEMBER/STRANGER THAN YOU DREAMT IT: from "The Phantom Of The Opera"


	3. You Will Be Mine!

Chapter Three

You Will Be Mine!

------------------

The girls exited the room, turned a corner outside, only to go through yet another door. After that, they ran down a long hallway, with pillars built to hold up the floor above them. Leaves and vines were growing all alone them, and as they passed by one of them, Fiona noticed that it had been splashed with a crimson color. She came to an abrupt halt and gasped.

Katie skidded to a stop. "What is it?!"

Fiona pointed. "Look at that! Is that… what I think it is?"

Katie carefully examined it closer, not touching her. Her eyes widened. "That's blood," she said in a low, frightened, monotone voice.

Fiona took off running down the hallway again, and Katie wasn't too far behind.

As they came to the end of the hallway, they were about to turn a corner when they saw a frightening shadow on the wall. Whatever it was appeared to be holding something small, and was lifting it up in the air. Fiona slowly tried to peek behind the corner to see what it is, but was met with an object being thrown at her. She gasped and stumbled back on the floor.

Katie looked at the object. It was an old, dirty doll.

Then, footsteps were heard coming around from behind the corner. The girls watched in horror as the large man from the butchery room stomped over to the doll, bent down, and picked it up, almost in a zombie-like state. Then, he turned and looked at the two girls, then glanced at his doll.

Katie quickly helped Fiona back to her feet. "Get ready to run," she said in a low voice.

The man smiled, then tossed the doll aside, and raised his arm up in the air, as if to attack, and he giggled.

"RUN!" Katie hollered as they took off running back in the direction they came in, with the man-thing following close behind. When they had run ran enough ahead, they ran back through the open door and his behind it, just as the man came running in behind them, and they didn't make a sound as they watched him run down the flight of stairs that they had not taken before.

The man stopped to look around, and found that they were not there, so continued on his way down the stairs, away from them.

The girls quickly ran back through the door , back down the gloomy hallway, then turned the corner where the large man was playing with his doll. They all the way down the corridor, then found another door to kick open.

The room was a mess inside, as there were cobwebs everywhere, and the chandelier from the ceiling had fallen to the floor, it's electrical wires still attached. In the corner was a little desk, with a green type-writer on it.

They walked over and examined it. "A type-writer?" Katie asked breathlessly, and frightened. "Why would such an old thing like this be in here?"

"Who cares?! I just want to get out of here!" Fiona exclaimed as she started pacing around the room. "Where in the world are we? Who--or what--was the man--or thing--chasing us? How in the world did we… What are you doing?!"

"Playing with it," Katie replied as she began pressing the keys on the type writer. When she pressed a certain combination of keys, something popped out of the top of it, the loud noise startling them. Katie took the little brown, thick, card out of the top, where the paper was supposed to go.

"Quite playing around! We've gotta go before that thing catches up to us!" Fiona grabbed her arm, and they ran back out of the room, back down the hallway, where they found another door, with a crate in front of it. Fiona pushed the crate out of the way, and kicked the door open.

This room appeared to be a laboratory, and there was a large, brown stone statue standing in front of another door. Katie examined it closer, and found that there was a little slot in the front of it. She pushed the little brown card in the slot, and stepped back.

All of a sudden, the statue started… dancing. It moved it's arms around above it's head, and then rolled it's arms around in front of his chest. When it was finished, the statue simply… disappeared.

"This place can't possibly get any weirder!" Fiona exclaimed as Katie kicked the door open.

They ran out onto an empty floor, where there was a set of broken stairs that should have led down. There was a long ladder in it's place on the side of the wall, and they climbed down it. When they reached the ground, they found yet another door, and ran inside to find yet another hallway. The truth was they were blindly running for their lives, and really didn't know where they were going.

They found another door, which led into a very fancy looking room. The floor was lined with black and white tiles, there was an elegant dining room table in the middle of the room, and there was also piano music playing.

Katie spotted something shiny on the table. "What's that?" They walked closer to examine it. "A key!" Katie's eyes lit up. "Maybe that's the key to the main gate!"

Fiona reached out to take the key, and as she did so, whoever was playing the piano slammed down on the keys, bringing an abrupt end to the song. Then, a man's voice was heard.

"Ah, Fiona. I see you've finally awakened… And you even have a little friend with you."

"Who are you?" Katie called out.

The man ignored her, and continued speaking. "There's something that I've wanted to show you for quite some time. Pull away that sheet behind you…"

The girls turned around to see that there was a white sheet draped over something on the sofa at the far end of the room. Fiona walked over to it, pulled the sheet back, and gasped. It was a brown statue of a woman, who was heavily with child.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" the man asked. "That, my dear, is what you will become in the future… Go ahead… You may touch it. You _will_ be mine, Fiona!" His laughter echoed in the room.

Katie looked up at the second floor of the room, where the stairs were leading up to. "You're crazy!" she yelled back.

"Oh, what's this? Is your little friend jealous, Fiona?" the man asked. "Don't worry. I'm sure that the others will put her to good use…"

"Others?" Fiona asked.

Then, a thud was heard from behind a book shelf to the right of them, as though something had fallen over.

Katie walked over to look at the front of the shelf, but nothing seemed out of order... until the crazy, big man's head popped out from behind it, with him making a small giggling sound. Katie rushed in the opposite direction, but the man's large hand appeared, outstretched in front of her, as though he were playing some sort of game. Fiona was frozed with fright where she was standing beside the statue.

Katie had an idea, and wdecided to act on it. She ran over to the wall in front of the book shelf, placing her back against it. Then, pushing herself forward, she rammed into the book shelf, knocing it over onto the man. Katie glanced at Fiona. "Is he alive?"

"He's passed out," she replied shakily.

Katie walked around to peek at the man, who was now pinned under the book shelf. Then, his eyes popped open, and he began grunting and lunging for her, but to no avail, as he was stuck.

Katie ran over and grabbed Fiona's hand, tearing her away from the sight of the expecting statue. "We're leaving. NOW!" Katie grabbed the key from the table before they ran out of the room.

**oOo**

They ended up finding yet another locked door, where they used the key to open it. They ran down yet another hallway, through a kitchen area, down a flight of stairs, to a storage area.

Finally, they had to stop to catch their breath. "Fiona, who was that guy?" Katie asked breathlessly.

"I don't know," she replied.

"Well, he seems to know _you_ pretty well, if he wants you to have his kids--"

"Don't say that!" She covered her ears. "That will never happen. Not in a million years!"

Katie shook her head, placed her hands over her temples. "What was I thinking?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, why in the world did I ever try to help you?! I don't even like you!" She began pacing around the storage room, wringing her fingers anxiously through her long, black hair. "What I should have done was just turned around and gone back home to call the police after I found the car wreck!"

"I still would have been trapped here!" Fiona pointed out angrily.

"The police would have found you! That's what they're for! It doesn't take a genius to follow a set of footprints to this place!"

A bewildered look crossed Fiona's face. "Footprints?"

"That's how I got here. Someone must have carried you from the car to here, because they left a trail of footprints behind."

Fiona took a moment to process what she was saying, then shook her head. "Who cares? Right now, we've got to find a way out of here. _Then_, we'll call the police."

"On _who_, exactly? We don't even know who this guy is!"

"We'll just say that there's some deranged wacko in a castle not far from the site of the car wreck!… Honestly, sometimes you can be such an idiot!"

"Idiot?!" Katie was about to retaliate with an equally smart remark, but instead too a deep breath and said. "Maybe you're right… In this case, I was an idiot for helping YOU!"

At that moment, a noise was heard from upstairs in the kitchen area, and both girls jerked their heads towards the stairs.

"What was that?" Fiona asked in a whisper.


	4. WHY HAS HE BROUGHT ME HERE?

Chapter Four

WHY HAS HE BROUGHT ME HERE?

------------------

The girls quietly crept back up the stairs, and into the kitchen, where there was no sound. Yet, they kept completely allert.

A creaking floor board echoed in the kitchen, and Fiona gasped, raising a hand to her mouth.

"Shh," Katie urged. "Be quiet," she whispered as she slowly walked over to the kitchen counter, where the sound had come from. She turned and looked at the window, which was completely fogged up.

Fiona breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, two large hands slammed down onto the surface of the counter, and the large man jumped up, yelping.

Katie whirled around, eyes wide, and a brief scream escaped her. She quickly headed for the exit of the kitchen, and Fiona ran after her, following her lead.

They ran out of the room, and down the right hall way, but they weren't expecting a stairway to be there. Fiona tripped over ove of the steps, and fell, grabbing her leg.

Katie grunted, almost crying at this point. "You idiot!" she exclaimed in a creacking voice. "We're done fore now!"

"No we're not," Fiona said breathlessly. "You go. Leave me and find a way out of here. Then, you can call the police!"

"Oh, yeah? What if you're killed while I'm gone?"

Fiona was about to say something, but the door to the kitchen creaked open, and they watched in horror as the man came out. At first, he didn't notice them, as his back was to them. He casually glanced around here and there, looking sad because the girls had gotten away form them. Then, realizing that they were by the stairs, he opened his mouth wide, releasing a laugh as he turned to them, holding his hand above his head, trying to scare them.

Fiona scooting up the stairs, and Katie helped her to her feet. As the thing came closer, they cowered in fear, knowing that this was the end.

"Exire Debilitas!" a man's familiar voice echoed.

They all turned to look down the hallway, only to see a dead end.

The creature seemed bewildered, and reached out to the frightened girls, but with a depressed look on his face, turned and walked away, down the stairs and with one last look back at them, down the hall.

As she watched him leave, Katie made a mental note of his name: Debilitas.

Then, footsteps were heard behind them. "Please excuse me, ladies."

The girls turned around to see a man in a brown, long sleeved sweatshirt, and matching pants appear at the end of the hall. He wore a hood over his head, hiding his face.

"I am Riccardo, keeper of the castle," he said.

Katie finally made the connection. "Hey... you're the freaky guy from the piano room!"

Riccardo grinned as he continued. "So sorry to hear about your accident. Your parents..."

Fiona's face flushed with fright at the image of her parents, lying dead in their car on the side of the road. And then, her eyes widened, and Katie could almost see the memory of the car crash flash in her mind.

"As Master Ugo and Mistress Ayla are both deceased, you ladies are the soul surviving heirs of Belli Castle."

At that moment, Katie's vision began to get blurry, as though she were under water. She placed her hand on the side of her head and glanced at Fiona, who appeared to be having the same reaction. The blurred vision was followed by light headedness, and then, dizziness.

"Are you in pain, ladies? Will you be all right?" Riccardo chuckled. "You've had a long day. Please, rest upstairs. Your bed has been prepared..."

The whole room appeared to be spinning, and Katie could hardly feel herself fall to the floor, but she definately felt the impact. Just before she completely blacked out, she saw Fiona land next to her. "Fiona..." she whispered before closing her eyes.

**oOo**

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!"

Katie's eyes shot open as she jolted upright at the sound of Fiona's scream. She was completely awake, and found that they were now back in the bedroom where they met the maid from earlier. "Are you okay?" she asked Fiona as she placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Fiona shook her head, hugging herself. "No... This isn't real... It's just a dream... This can't be happening to me!... It's can't be!..." She immediatly got up from the bed.

_[At this point, the song "Why Have You Brought Me Here/Roul I've Been There" from "The Phantom Of The Opera" begins to play, and the girls sing along with it.]_

_**FIONA: Why has he brought me here?**_

_**KATIE: He is insane.**_

_**FIONA: We must get out!**_

Fiona rushed over to the door, but Katie jumped up from the bed and stopped her by grabbing her hand before it reached the door knob.

_**KATIE: Do not go! His eyes will find us there!**_

_**FIONA: Katie, don't say that!**_

_**KATIE: His voice, it burns...**_

_**FIONA: Don't even think it!**_

_**KATIE: And that giant, foul, butcher man...**_

_**FIONA: This is a horrid nightmare...**_

_**KATIE: And the woman had a look that could kill...**_

_**FIONA: This castle's a prison--a nightmare!**_

_**KATIE: ... that could kill us!**_

_**FIONA: There is no way to get out of here!**_

_**BOTH: My God, what is this place...**_

_**KATIE: These prison walls...**_

_**FIONA: This house of blood...**_

_**KATIE: We must escape from here...**_

_**FIONA: Oh, is it possible?**_

_**KATIE: We have to try!**_

_**FIONA: With all our might!**_

_**BOTH: And in the laberinth where freedom hides, the keeper of the castle will be there with hidden eyes.**_

Katie chuckled.

"What could be funny at a time like this?!" Fiona exclaimed.

"Nothing, really... It's just that... We finally managed to agree on something."

For a moment, they just stared at each other, eyes locked in a gaze of agreement.

Then, the muffled sound of an animal was heard, coming from outside.

The girls rushed over to the window, and looked out at the dead court yard, where they had come from the butchery room. An animal was lying on the ground by a large tree, and appeared to be ties up.

"Hey... It's that dog from earlier," Katie said.

Fiona placed her hand on the glass of the window, looking down at the down sympathetically. "The poor thing..." She looked at Katie. "Let's go help him."

Katie nodded. "We might as well. There's no reason why _he_ shouldn't be given the chance to escape this nightmare..."

* * *

WHY HAVE YOU BROUGHT ME HERE?/ROUL I'VE BEEN THERE: from "The Phantom Of The Opera"


	5. Hewie

Chapter Five

Hewie

-----------------

They ran outside into the night, down the flight of stairs, and over by the tree to the poor dog. They bend down next to him, and Fiona started untying him from the rope.

"This poor animal," Katie said. "Not even animals deserve to be in a place like this!"

When Fiona was finished untying him, he stood up on all fours, breathing with his tongue hanging out as the girls pet him. "There we go. Feel better now?" Katie asked.

Fiona said, "Go, now. And don't get caught this time."

The dog began to walk away, and the girls stood up to watch him. For a moment, he stopped and turned his head to look back at them.

"He looks happier now," Katie said.

Fiona nodded. "Go..." she told the dog.

The dog began walking away again, and dissapeared behind a corner.

Fiona looked around the dark area, and shivered, hugging herself.

"We better get back inside," Katie said. "Not that it's any better than out here, but at least it's warmer."

They ran back over to the stairs and began to head back up to the room, when a high pitched squeaking sound was heard.

"What's that?" Katie asked.

The two girls looked around until they saw an open door a few yards away, being moved by the slight chilly wind of the night.

"Someone must have come through that door," Katie said.

"I don't care," Fiona replied in a low voice. "I wanna get back inside where it's warm!"

They continued up the stairs and back to the room, and Katie stopped. "Fiona... you left the door open!"

Fiona gave her an angry look. "Only because I thought _you_ were going to close it!" They both looked inside, and saw nothing and no one that could pose a threat. "Let's just go inside. I'm cold."

Once inside, Fiona stepped up to the bedding area with a depressed and tired look on her face. Then, as she turned to look at the bed, she gasped and stumbled back onto the ground.

"What is it?" Katie asked as she rushed up to stand beside her. She came to an abrupt stop when she saw Debilitas sitting on the bed, kicking his legs back and forth like a little child.

When he saw them, he let out a low, horse sounding moan, and held up his hand, as if to say hello. Then, he stood up from the bed, not taking his eyes off of them as he raised his arms up in the air, yelling as he got ready to attack. He slowly and menecingly stepped forward, thenbent down, waving his arms around as he got down on his hands and knees. He began crawling over to the girls, reaching one hand out to grab them.

"BARK! BARK! BARK!"

They all looked over towards the entrance to see the dog, standing a few feet away, as Katie had forgotten to close the door. He growled menacingly at Debilitas, as if to challenge him.

Debilitas gave him an angry look as he got back up to his feet, raised his arms above his head, and yelled.

The dog ran up to him, lunged at one of his large hands as it came down on him, and bit at it with his sharp teeth.

Debilitas yelled in pain, shaking the dog off. Then, he turned and rushed for the door beside the bed, opened it, and marched out.

Fiona jumped up immediatly, ran over and slammed the door and locked it, pressing her back against it as she slid back down the the floor. She looked at the dog and smiled. "Thank you," she said breathlessly. "You saved us."

The dog appeared to be calm and happy now that they were safe.

Katie walked over and sat down next to Fiona, patting her knees. "Come here, boy... It's okay."

The dog calmly walked over, and the girls pet him while he licked their hands.

"What's you name?" Fiona asked. Then, her smile faded as she remember something. "Hewie?"

Katie looked at her strangely. "What?"

"You remember that tag that we found in the butchery room? That must have been his name tag!"

Katie took a moment to make the connection. "Oh, right... Hewie! That must be his name!"

Fiona smiled again at the dog. "So, you're Hewie!... Well, hi Hewie!"

Hewie barked twice to aknowledge them, and they smiled.


	6. The Winner Of Debilitas' Game

Chapter Six

The Winner Of Debilitas' Game

---------------

"Hewie!" Fiona called behind them as the girls ran out the door, and down the hallway where they first met Dabilitas. Hewie followed close behimd them, panting the entire time.

After wandering around the castle for a while, they eventually came to a long hallway, where there was a brown table to the left of them, with a green phone on it. Just as they passed the phone, it started ringing. The girls stood there for a moment, wondering what to do. Katie finally got sick of the constant ringing, so she marched over and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" she aswered.

She was surprised to hear a mufled, muted monaing sound on the other end. "Fiona..." an old man's voice said.

"She's not here, may I take a message?" Katie said bluntly.

The man groaned. "Then... this must be Katie, is it not?"

Katie's eyes widened. "Who is this?"

"You and Fiona must pay attention now, Katie. Be wary of Riccardo... Fiona's Azoth..." Then, the line fuzzed up, and went dead.

"Hello?... Hello?!" Katie sighed in defeat as she hung up the phone. She turned around and asked, "Fiona, what's an Azoth?"

Fona stared at her in confursion, then shook her head. "I don't know... Why?"

Katie shot a thumb in the direction of the phone. "Some guy on the other end said that you have something called an Azoth... They also said to be careful with this Riccardo guy."

"Do you think we should trust that caller?"

"No way! I don't trust anything that has to do with this place!... But I like the idea of staying away from Riccardo, that's for sure."

Fiona nodded. "Fine, but let's forget the Azoth thing."

**oOo**

They wandered around the castle even further until they came to a room that appeared to look more like a... church. At the far end of the room, there were stain glass windows behind a large green statue, with something golden hanging from her elbow.

"Is that a key?" Katie asked.

"Maybe it's the key to the main gate!" Fiona said as she rushed over to the statue. There was a blue marble, footstool sized podium in front of the statue, with something inscribed on it. Fiona didn't bother to read what is said as she used it to stand on, so that she could reach the key.

Katie shook her head, as she knew that Fiona was going to get hurt, but she had become desensitized to the frail girl's stupidity, and decided to let her find out for herself. She looked around the church. This had to be the most beautiful place in this entire hole, and there was a beautiful, crystal chandelier handing above them.

Fiona carefully reached her arms up, standing on her toes as she grabbed the key and took it down from where it was hanging. She jumped down from the marble podium and walked back over to Katie's side.

At that moment, Hewie made an angry face at the open door, and growled.

"What is it, boy?" Katie asked, concerned.

Hewie started barking loudly as Debilitas peeked his insane head around from behind back of the door, with a curious expression on his face.

Fiona backed up. "Ah... No..." she said, frightened.

"Calm down," Katie whispered. "He's strong, but he's also stupid. We'll outsmart him somehow..."

Debilitas slowly pushed the door closed, then locked it. He immediatly turned around, waving his arms in the air and he giggled frantically. Then, he stopped, his smile falling from his face, and he just stared at them in confusion. After he stepped a little closer, he giggled softly and said in a low voice. "... Dolly."

Katie's eyes widened. "Oh... I see..."

"What?" Fiona asked.

"I don't think he wants to hurt us. I think he wants to... play with us."

Fiona looked at her in disbelief. "Play?!"

"Yeah! Remember how he was playing with that old doll? He must have lost it and wants to play with us instead." She winked and took a few baby steps forward. "Is that it? Do you want to play?"

Debilitas stood there in confusion for a moment, until a smile slowly formed on his face, then he giggled.

Katie looked back at Fiona. "You see? He just wants to play, that's all!" She took Fiona's hand. "Fiona, why don't you play a game with him?"

She frantically shook her head. "Katie, are you insane?!"

"No, don't worry. He's not gonna hurt us!" She dragged Fiona to the middle of the room, and Debilitas watched from a safe distance.

"Let's teach him how to play patty-cake," Katie said as she faced Fiona, who's face was pale with fright. Katie winked again as she held up her hands and clapped them together. Fiona reluctantly repeated the action, and then they clapped their hands together. "Patty cake... patty cake... Backer's man..." Katie said.

Fiona continued. "Bake me a cake... as fast as you can."

Katie nodded. "Roll it..."

"And pat it..."

"And mark it with a 'D'..."

"And put it in the over for..."

"Debilitas, you, and me!"

At the sound of his name, Debilitas giggled.

Katie smiled wide. "You see? He wants to play, that's all! Now, can you play with him for a few minutes?"

Fiona stared at her blankly. "What?"

"You'll be fine, Fiona. Hewie will be close by, and you two can play right here... _under the chandelier_." She put extra emphasis on that last part.

Fiona glanced up with her eyes, then back at Katie, finally catching the drift. "Oh... Okay." She turned to Debilitas. "We'll play here."

Debilitas laughed happily and marched over to Fiona, holding up his big hands, ready to play the game he had just watched.

While Fiona was keeping Debilitas pre-occupied, Hewie remained close by, just in case. Katie discreetly looked up at the chandelier, and followed the trail of the chain that held it up to side of the room, where she saw a lever attatched to green gears. She calmly walked over to it and grabbed the red handle. To test the waters, she pushed on the handle a little bit, and the chandelier made a slight noise as it came down a little ways.

Fiona and Debilitas looked around in bewilderment.

"What was that?" Fiona asked.

Katie shrugged. "I don't know... Oh! I forgot to mention another part of the game!"

"What?" Fiona asked.

Katie gripped the handle. "This is the part where you're supposed to... MOVE!" Katie gripped the handle and, with one swift motion, the chandelier came crashing down.

Fiona quickly ran out of the way just before the chandelier landed right on top of Debilitas, making a crashing sound as it did so.

Katie ran over to Fiona and Hewie, and they both stared at the poor creature, not looking at them with bewilderment in his eyes as he lay there, pinned to the floor. Then, with a few more deep breaths, he passed out, and his entire upper body collapsed to the floor.

"Is he dead?" Fiona asked.

"I think so..." Katie replied as she looked up. "That chandelier was heavy, and it landed on him pretty hard." She stared off into space for a moment. "I almost feel bad... I didn't mean to kill him..."

"Good ridence," Fiona said. "Good ridence to everything else in this horrid place, too."

Hewie walked over to Debilitas lifeless body and growled at him.

Fiona comforted him. "It's okay, Hewie... He can't come after us anymore... Good boy.

Hewie turned around and walked back over to the girls, and they bent down to pet him. He licked their faces, giving them a little more comfort.

"Calm down, Hewie. It's over," Fiona said. "It's okay, Hewie... It's okay."

Then, they heard very familier sounding grunts, and the girls slowly turned their heads to watch Debilitas, now awake, push himself upward. The chandelier slid off of him, and for a moment, he sat there on his knees in front of them.

"Oh, no..." Katie mumbled under her breath.

However, the look his face was quite... humbled. He slowly placed his hands on the floor, and bent his head down, as if to... bow.

"What is he doing?" Fiona whispered.

Depilitas then pushed himself upward, getting back up to his feet, only he turned, as if to walk down the hall to the door, opened it and walked outside. Just before he closed the door, he stopped to give them one last pathetic look, then closed the door behind him.

The girls slowly got back up to their feet. "What... just... happened?" Fiona asked.

"I don't know," Katie replied, keeping her eyes locked onto the door. "But I think... I think he was only trying to play a game by chasing us around. He never intended to hurt us."

Fiona followed her gaze. "Do you think this means that we've won the game?"

Katie nodded. "It has to mean just that... Otherwise, he would have come after us again when he got up."

Hewie barked, getting their attention as he walked towards the door, sniffing it.

The girls laughed. "Good idea, Hewie." Fiona said.


	7. Daniella

Chapter Seven

Daniella

-------------------

The girls ran out of the church, and up a flight of stairs, until they found avery interesting looking door. This door was brown, and had a fancy design carved on it, and the design was painted mint green. Fiona noticed the gold lock. "Maybe this is there the key goes." She reached into her pocket, taking out the key, and slowly getting ready to put the key in the lock... when a cold, pale hand reached out to touch hers. It startled Fiona so much that she gasped, and dropped the key, which bounced off somewhere in a dark corner.

The girls jumped and jerked their heads to see the maid from earlier smiling creepily at them. "Dinner is served, ladies." Her voice was low and eery, as though she had a sour throat, or something. She leaned in closer to Fiona's face and whispered again, "Dinner is served, ladies." Then, a creepy and devious smile appeared on her face.

Katie gulped. "To whom to we owe the pleasure?" she asked in a low, intimidated voice.

The woman looked at her. "I, madam.... Daniella," she replied.

**oOo**

The girls were seated at a long table, draped with a red table cloth, in a large dining room. Daniella stood beside Fiona, who was feeling just as uncomfrotable as Katie was.

"My creator said he made me the perfect woman..." Daniella said, rather grimmly. She looked down at the girls, who were trying their best to eat their clam chowder as quickly as possible as she continued. "But I cannot taste, or experiance pleasure. Or feel pain."

"I don't blame you there," Katie said. "Who can get any pleasure form a place like this?"

Fiona sat her spoon down, and Katie did the same thing. "Um, thanks for the meal," Fiona said as she and Katie stood up and headed for the door, keeping their eyes on Daniella until they closed the door behind them.

**oOo**

As the girls marched upstairs, Katie placed her hand on her stomach. "Fiona... what do you think was in that clam chowder?" she asked queezily.

"I don't know, but I feel sick," Fiona replied. "Not to mention tired."

When they reached the top of the stairs, they spotted the open door to the bedroom, where they first met Daniella. "How about we get some sleep? Or at least try to."

"Good idea," Fiona replied as they queezilly walked into the room, closing the door behind them. They stomped over to the bed, and Katie laid down on the left side while Fiona laid on the right, each one about an inch apart from one another. Hewie jumped up onto the foot of the bed to rest as well.

**oOo**

Katie's eyes slowly opened as she rolled over in bed. Her eyes shot open immediatly when she saw Daniella, caressing Fiona's stomach. "What are you doing?!" Katie exclaimed as she sat up.

This scared Fiona awake, and she too jumped up in bed, and the two of them stared at Daniella strangely.

Daniella stood up, turned, and slowly walked over to the glass window. Then, she turned around to look at the girls and said, "I am not complete."

Fiona and Katie quickly crawled off of the bed as they watched Daniella place both hands on the window, then press her head against it. They watched in horror as the diranged woman began to frantically pound of head on the glass, causing it to crack, with every slam of the head, the cracks getting larger. Finally, the glass just broke altogether, and she slowly looked up at one of the sharp looking, broken shards, reached up to it, gripping her hand around it, and broke it off. She brought the glass close to her face and smiled at her reflection, then kissed it.

She turned around to face the girls, with the large piece of glass it hand. The treterous shard she was weilding was as long as a baseball bat! Hewie growled as Daniella slowly marched toward them.

"RUN!" Fiona screamed as they turned and headed for the door, pulling it open, then turning a corner to the left, running through another door, all the while Daniella was following them with the large shard of glass.

They ended up running down the hall, toward the corridor where they first met Debilitas, until Daniella was out of sight entirely, but they did not stop running until they had run through a few doors to get outside, down a ladder, through the courtyard, through another door to get to another part of the castle.

"That woman is crazy!" Katie exclaimed as they ran up a flight of stairs.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Fiona replied.

When they reached the top of the stairs, they came to an abrupt stop. Daniella was standing right in front of them, her back turned to them, and she was no longer holding the large piece of glass. For a moment, all they could do was stand there in fright, until Daniella looked over her shoulder and said, "Ladies, it's cleaning time now."

Fiona was dumbfounded as she looked back in the direction they came in, and then back at Daniella. "We... Weren't you just--"

"Who cares?! Let's go!" Katie grabbed Fiona's hand as they ran towards another flight of stairs at the other side of the room, with Hewie following them.


	8. The Truce

Chapter Eight

The Truce

-------------------

They found the fancy door with the gold lock again, and Hewie sniffed around until he found the key in the corner. Fiona bent down to take it from him, unlocked the door, and the girls ran inside.

They came out to yet another hallway and as they were running, heard the door close behind them. They turned around to see Daniella again, now holding the glass shard, they they door off running down the hall with her following close behind.

As they were running up a flight of stairs, they passed an elongated mirror, which caught Katie of guard, as she thought that there may have been someone else running beside them. As she looked back to make sure, she didn't notice the stairs in front of her, and as a result, stumbled and tripped on the stairs, falling down.

Fiona was focused on running, and didn't notice until she was a few feet away. She came to a stop and looked back at Katie, who was on the stairs. "Are you alright?!"

Katie tried to move her ankle, but pain surged through her. "No... I can't walk! You go on without me!"

Fiona shook her head as she ran back down the stairs and sat at Katie's side, just as Daniella's footsteps echoed louder as she came walking up the stairs.

"Fiona, just go," Katie said.

"Forget it," Fiona replied.

Daniella was coming toward them now, clutching the shard of glass in her hand. But when she got to the mirror, she stopped, and slowly turned to look at her reflection. All of a sudden, her eyes widened in shock, and she started... screaming. She covered her face as she stumbled back.

Fiona siezed the oppertunity, and helped Katie up my grabbing one arm and wrapping it around the back of neck, standing up, and the two of them hobbling up the stairs with Hewie behind them, making sure that Daniella didn't follow.

**oOo**

They ran through several doors, hallways, and rooms until they finally reached a small room, with an old fasioned movie projector on a little table in the middle. Fiona closed the door behind them, then sat down next to Hewie, who was nudging up to Katie. "How's your foot?" she asked.

"A little better. I think I can stand on it again." Katie carefully stood up, and as she did this, Hewie licked her foot. Katie smiled. "Yep! All better now!" Then, her smile faded. "Fiona, why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Why did you stay with me back there? You could have had a better chance of survival on your own... Why didn't you leave me?"

Fiona sighed. "Because... that's not what friends do when their other friends are in trouble."

Katie raised an eyebrow. "Friends?"

Fiona nodded. "Yes, friends..."

"But I thought you hated me."

Fiona looked away out of shame. "I did... but... You've been helping me, so--"

"What does that mean? When we get out of here, you're gonna hate me again?"

Fiona shook her head. "No! It's not that! Not at all! It's just that... I normally hang out with a certain group of girls, and..."

"Oh... I see." Katie looked away. "So, it's a matter of sociel status?"

"Pretty much... I know it's not a very good reason."

There was a moment of silence. Then, Katie sighed. "Hey, Fiona?"

"What?"

Katie looked at her with tired eyes. "Obviously, us hating each other has not helped with the situation, correct?"

Fiona looked down, ashamed. "Correct."

"How about we make a deal?" Katie grinned. "We stick together through this, and work as a team... at least, until we get out of here."

Fiona smiled with a nod.

Katie chucked. "Hey, we've already got a few things in common. Number one, we agree that this place is crazy. Number two, we can each agree to disagree..."

Fiona laughed.

"And number three..." Katie gestured to their new dog friend. "We both like Hewie!"

Fiona smiled wider. "Of course... Okay Katie, truce?" She held out her hand to shake.

Katie took her hand a shook it. "Truce."

Hewie barked, as if to aknowledge their agreement.


	9. BEAUTIFUL

Chapter Nine

BEAUTIFUL

-----------------

"Wanna watch a movie?" Katie asked as she turned on the movie projector.

An image of Debilitas flashed across the screen... and he was carrying Fiona over his shoulder, through the court yard, obviously heading towards the butchery room. The rest were mostly images of Fiona, Katie, and Hewie exploring the castle, and there was also an image of Riccardo and Daniella, who appeared to be discussing something. Then, the reel ended, along with the home movies.

"What is this?" Fiona asked in bewilderment as she looked at Katie. "We were being filmed."

Before Katie could respond, the two were startled by an abrupt, and loud, ripping noise. They jerked their heads towards the large, white cloth that once held the images from the projector, and saw a portion of someone's sober and creepy face staring back at them.

"Who's there?" Fiona asked.

The familiar clicking of the person's shoes echoed in the room as Daniella came out from behind the projector screen, and she instantly began slashing her large piece of glass at the girls, who quickly backed away. They tried to head for the door, but Daniella stopped them by reaching the door first, flashing them a diranged looking smile.

"Why are you after us?" Fiona asked.

"What do you people want?!" Katie added.

Daniella stared at them for a moment, silent. Then, her smile faded, and she replied in a low voice, "Azoth..."

"Azoth?" Fiona repeated.

"Azoth..." Daniella repeated. "Essence of life... of life... of wo... wo... woman... WOMAN!" She became breathless with insanity as she spoke. Then, she began laughing hysterically as her head began to shake all over the place.

"MOVE!" Katie yelled as they quickly zipped past Daniella, kicking the door open as they ran out.

**oOo**

When the girls had run far enough away, through a couple of rooms and down a few halls, they finally stopped to cath their breath. Hewie was also breahting heavily, and was resting up against the wall of a large room, with a giant glass ceiling above them.

"That... woman... is... insane!" Fiona exclaimed in between breaths. "Everything about this place is insane.

Katie appeared to be lost in thought.

"Are you listening?!" Fiona yelled as she founded her fist on the floor.

Then, Katie's eyes lit up as she came to a realization. "... Not real," she mumbled.

Fiona stood up, and Hewie continued to lick her hand. "What?" she asked in bewilderment.

Katie looked at her. "Do you remember when we were eating? Daniella said that her creator made her to be the perfect woman--her _creator_. Yet, she can't feel pain, or anything. And now, she's chasing after us over this Azoth thing, because she says it's the essence of life and--"

"Woman," fiona interrupted, as she came to the same realization.

Katie nodded. "Right... Fiona, I don't think Daniella is a real human."

"Then what is she? A robot, or something?"

"I don't know... But whatever she is, she's not real... And she _wants_ to be."

At that moment, Hewie began to breath heavily, and turned to look in the direction they came in, then barked loudly, frightening the girls. They watched in horror as Daniella emerged from the stairway they had climbed up, clutching the shard of glass. She was still laughing frantically, and shaking her head all around in a diranged manner. She stopped right in front of the girls, then became still, and was quiet. She sighed angrily, then raised her arm up above her head, holding the glass shard above them, only to start laughing again. she was about to strike at them, but Hewie barked and jumped up to bit her other arm, and the struggle between the man-made woman and the dog began. All the while, Daniella was laughing and swinging the glass shard around. The struggle continued until Hewie had Daniella on the ground, lying on her stomach, still laughing, while he clutched her free hand in his mouth.

"Hewie!" Fiona exclaimed, as though he had done something wrong, only she was shocked as what their dog friend was doing.

Hewie released Daniella's hand, then walked away.

Daniella looked up at them, and continued to laugh as she made her way back to her feet. Then, when she was standing upright, she stopped laughing, and looked at them angrilly. "Blood. Flesh woman," she said in a low, disgusted tone. "You vile creatures. You lure men into your filthy bodies again and again. And you are allowed to do that because you are precious, precious little princesses. Precious... Ptecious little princesses." She started laughing frantically again, and backed away from them. Then, she shakily brought the glass shard up to her mouth, and licked the sharp edges.

The girls stood there, shaking with fear at the disturbing sight in front of them.

Then, she looked at them again, and continued her frantic laughter.

By now, Fiona was shaking with fear, and Katie had to hold her to keep her fairly still. "She's not in her right mind," Katie said.

Fiona swallowed hard. "I know, but... she's right." She stood up straight, took a deep breath, and said to Daniella, _**"Don't look at me."**_ She stepped away from Katie, taking a few steps closer to Daniella, who was looking at her confused, as her laughter had abruptly stopped at Fiona's reaction.

Then, Fiona started singing.

_[At this point, the song "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera begins.]_

_**FIONA: Every day is so wonderful. Then, suddenly, it's hard to breath. Now and then, I get insicure from all the pain. I'm so ashamed. But I am beautiful no matter what they say. Words can't bring me down. I am beautiful in every single way. Yes, words can't bring me down. So, don't you bring me down today.**_

Katie picked up on what Fiona was doing, and joined in the song.

_**KATIE: To all your friends, you're delirious. So consumed in all your doom. Trying hard to fill the emptiness. The pieces gone, left the puzzle undone. Is that the way it is? 'Cause you are beautiful no matter what they say. Words can't bring you down. Yes, you are beautiful in every single way. Words can't bring you down. So, don't you bring me down together.**_

Daniella stared at them, wide eyed, as they continued to sing together... and she felt the need to join in the song.

_**BOTH: No mattee what we do...**_

_**DANIELLA: No matter what we do...**_

_**BOTH: No matter what they say...**_

_**DANIELLA: No matter what they say...**_

_**BOTH: We're the song inside the tune, full of beautiful mistakes. And everywhere we go...**_

_**DANIELLA: And everywhere we go...**_

_**BOTH: The sun will always shine. But tomorrow will find a way. And tomorrow we might awake on the other side.**_

Daniella smiled wide as she herself began to sing by herself.

_**DANIELLA: 'Cause we are beautiful, no matter what they say. Words can't bring us down. Yes, we are beautiful in every single way. Words can't bring us down. So, don't you bring me down today...**_

Then, she gasped with wide eyes, and reached up to touch her cheek, her breath shaking as she looked at the two girls, who had apparently showed her some kind of light that only she could see. She smiled. "Thank you," she whispered as she walked passed them to stand in the middle of the room.

The girls, and Hewie, ran away, over to the stairway, when Daniella's loud, shreiking scream sounded off, and they covered their ears as a shattering sound also echoed with it.

They watched as the effects of Daniella's scream caused the glass in the roof above them to shatter. large pieces came falling down off to the side, while small pieces were sprinkling down like dangerous sharp snow. Yet, the diranged woman stood there, her arms up in the air, smiling as she spun around in a happy circle... waiting for the one large piece of glass to come down upon her.

It sliced right through her chest, coming out in her back, and she yelled in pain. Then, as she drooped down to the floor, a smile crossed her face, and she died, her eyes still open.

The girls stared at her for a moment, then, slowly walked back over to examine her. Indeed, she was cearly dead.

"What did she thank us for?" Fiona asked.

"For helping her to truly feel," Katie explained. "She wanted to be a _real_ woman, not just someone's creation. If she were man made, then she wouldn't have been able to feel anything--not even true human emotion."

"Your point?"

Katie scoffed. "My point is... Remember when she touched her cheek?"

Fiona nodded.

Katie looked up at the now shattered ceiling. The moon was looking above them. "I saw it shining the moonlight... She was wiping away a tear."

* * *

BEAUTIFUL: by Christina Aguilera


	10. Riccardo

Chapter Ten

Riccardo

----------------

"What's that?" Katie asked when she saw something shiny on the floor.

Fiona followed her gaze, then bent down to pick up the object. "It's another key," she said as she twirled it around in her hand.

Hewie barked.

Fiona nodded. "Right, Hewie... We should probably get going."

They ran down the flight of stairs, not looking back at Daniella's lifeless form.

**oOo**

Their running eventually slowed down, and they were calmly walking through the hallways with Hewie in between them. Fiona appeared to be lost in thought.

"What is it?" Katie asked.

"Nothing... It's just that... I can't help but feel a little bad for that woman..." She shrugged. "If she really was a woman, that is..."

"We'll say that she was, to save on confusion."

"... What do you thin she really was?"

"Crazy."

Fiona giggled.

They eventually came to another door, and Fiona kicked it open. Inside was what appeared to be a... laboratory area. In the middle of the room was a large vat, with green liquid inside... and there appeared to be a person inside, scrunched up into a little ball, only the person was suspended unside down, and... it looked like just a molding of gray clay.

"What is _this_?" Fiona asked, making a disgusting face.

Hewie growled.

"Ladies..." a familiar voice said from behind them.

Fiona gasped, and Katie's eyes widened as they both slowly turned around to see Riccardo coming towards them, his face still hidden under the hood of his outfit. They backed up with every step he took towards them.

"Now, if you would please come with me..."

As the girls backed away, he kept coming closer, and it seemed like they were making a dumb circle around the room as they rounded the large vat.

Fiona stared at him fearfully. "No... we don't want to," she managed to say through her frightened voice. "Please let us be. We want to go home."

He grinned. "But Miss Fiona... You are home! This whole castle is all yours, as well as it is Katie's."

Eventually, the girls bumped into something behind them. Katie turned around to see that they had been stopped by a bunch of large wires that were attatcked to the wall, but were connected to the vat.

"So, the girls do not wish to stay at their castle?" Riccardo asked mennesingly.

Katie made an angry face as she swallowed hard. "How do you know us? Who are you?"

He made no reply, but slowly riased his arm up... pointing a gun at them!

The girl's quickly dashed away from him, back to the door, and ran out... and it wasn't too long before they could hear him running after them.

**oOo**

"You can't get away!" Riccardo yelled from behind them, although he could not be seen.

The girls turned a corner and kicked a door open. They ran inside the new room to find that it was more like a doctor's office. There was a long patient's table in the middle of the room, a white tarp in front of the door, and there were cabinetes that were thought to have held medecine.

"We've gotta outrun this guy!" Katie whispered after they had closed the door behind them. "He might kill us!"

Fiona ran over to the cabinates and started opening them up, looking for anything that might help.

Katie raised an eyebrow. "Uh, I don't think that couch medecine is going to help here!"

Fiona gave her a frustrated look as she pulled out a large brown glass bottle. She read the lable and grinned. She looked at Katie and said, "You hide."

"Where?"

Fiona thought for a moment. "I know. Open the door!"

"WHAT?!"

"Just open the door and hide behind it!" She tapped her knee. "Hewie! Come here!"

Hewie ran over to her side, and Katie gulped as she reluctantly turned the doorknob.

"If this doesn't work, you run out the door as fast as you can!" Fiona exclaimed.

Katie opened the door, and waiting behind it, pressed against the wall.

Eventually, Riccardo walked into the room, and because his hood covered the sides of his face, there was no way he could see Katie through the cracks in the door, as he was now walking around to the front of the curtain. "Ah, Fiona..."

Katie waited anxiously, trying not to make a sound.

"Where is Katie? Is she not with you?"

Fiona didn't reply.

Katie grit her teeth angrilly. If Fiona had a death wish, that was just fine. But why did she have to take poor Hewie down with her? She waited for the gunshots that would surely kill them. But instead, she heard Fiona grunt, and then, a breaking sound. Then... something started to fizzle, and Riccardo began to grunt and moan in pain. He screamed as he ran out of the room, and Katie tensed up as he ran by.

"You can come out now," Fiona said.

Katie quickly closed the door, locking it behind her, and she ran around the curtain to see that Fiona was just fine, the same with Hewie. "What did you do?"

Fiona pointed to a spot on the floor, and Katie saw that there were shards of brown glass, lying in a pool of clear liquid. "What is that?"

"Acid," Fiona replied. "I threw it at him, and it probably burned him."

Katie sighed as she looked at Fiona, then chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Fiona asked.

Katie shook her head. "I thought you were gonna die... I've gotta laugh, or else I'll break out in a panic attack!"

Fiona giggled. "I suppose so... That, and everyone else has been laughing insanely. Why not us?"

"True!" Katie replied through her laughter.

As the two laughed together, Hewie barked happily.


	11. Gun Shot Horrors

Chapter Eleven

Gun Shot Horrors

---------------------

Eventually, the girls found their way back outside, only this time, they had found a way to go beyond the court yard, and there didn't seem to be anything in the way of their freedom.

"Hey Fiona," Katie asked as they ran. " what are you gonna do when we get out of here?"

"I don't know," she replied. "I don't have my parents anymore, so..." Her voice trailed off for a moment.

Katie looked away. "Sorry. I didn't mean to--"

"It's all right... What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to Maryland to live with my aunt."

"Oh? Is your father going?"

"No way! I hope I never see him again!"

Fiona looked at her in confusion. "I don't understand..."

Katie chuckled. "Oh, right. I never told you... I was running away from home when I found your wrecked car."

Fiona's eyes widened. "What for?"

"Because my dad hates me, and it return, I hate him too. He's nothing but a no good drunk who sits around and drinks all day!"

All of a sudden, Hewie came to an abrupt stop, crouched down, and started growling.

"What is it, boy?" Katie asked.

Hewie barked, then took off running forward as fast as he could.

"Hewie!" Fiona yelled as they watched him run into a group of bushes, out their sight. They followed where he had gone, and looked around. "Hewie?" Fiona called out as they looked around.

Then, a loud gun shot echoed in the air, and it sounded like it was dangerously close by. It scared most of the crows out of the trees.

For a moment, the girls stood there, in complete shock. "Oh no..." Katie mumbled. "Hewie!!!" she yelled. "Hewie! Where are you?! Come back here!"

"Hewie!!!" Fiona repeated as they ran past the bushes, in the direction that Hewie had gone in.

**oOo**

It wasn't until they heard Hewie's pathetic whining that they finally found him, lying in the middle of a protective group of trees. He was breathing heavilly, and his leg was bleeding badly.

"You've been shot," Fiona said as they bent down next to him, petting him gently. "You'll be all right," Fiona whispered.

Katie quickly took off her white sweater. "This will stop the bleeding." She wadded the sweater up into a ball, and pressed it on the wound.

Fiona also helped to do so, and as she did this, she noticed the mark on the back of Katie's shoulder, and gasped.

Katie looked at her. "What?"

"That mark on your shoulder..." Fiona said in a surprised whisper.

"It's a birth mark. what about it?" Katie asked as she continued to press down otno Hewie's wound.

Fiona gestured to her left shoulder. "I have one just like on the back of _my_ shoulder."

Katie looked up at her with shock on her face. "What?" Without asking, she reached for the back of Fiona's shirt and pulled it down a little bit. Sure enough, there was the same mark.

They stared at each other for an awkward moment. Then, they heard the sound of twigs breaking under someone's feet.

"Huh?" Fiona asked as she turned around. "You stay here with Hewie. I'm gonna go check it out."

Katie looked at her. "Are you sure?"

Fiona nodded, and before anymore was said, she stood up, took off running towards the noise, turned a corner, and was out of sight.

Katie bent back down to tend to Hewie, who was still whining. "It'll be okay Hewie," she said as she comforted him further.

Five minutes later, Hewie's wound had been all mended, and Katie smiled at him. "Good boy," she said as he stood on his good three feet.

Then, gunshots were heard in the distance.

Katie jerked her head in that direction. "Riccardo... Oh, no. Fiona!" Her mind scrambled, wondering what she was going to do. Hewie wasn't really able to run yet, but Fiona might need help. Before she could make any defanate desicions, she heard close footsteps. Her eyes widened as she watched Riccardo come walking around the corner, holding his gun, aimed at her. Only this time, the hood of his sweatshirt was down, revealing his head.

His face... She would know that face anywhere, after finding the accident on the side of the road. He had a mandles scar on his face, but she knew for sure who this man was. "Ugo Belli?!" she asked in an astonished whisper.

He chuckled as he pointed his gun at her. "More like Ugo's brother... his clone."

Katie stood there, paralized with fear. Her heart was racing, and she was beginning to panic. So this was it. She was going to die, and this was undoubtibly how Fiona died as well. Poor Hewie would probably suffer the same fate... All of these thoughts, coupled with the panic that was racing through her system, was beginning to make her dizzy.

He was about to squeeze the trigger when...

"NOOOOO!" a horse, elderly man's voice screamed to the top of his lungs.

This startled Riccardo, and as he jumped, his arm moved, and he shot at the top of a nearby tree, frightening more crows out of their nests.

Katie gasped at the sound of the loud gun shot. Realizing that could have been her instead of the trees, her dizziness took over, and she fell to the ground, closing her eyes.

The last thing she heard was the sound of Hewie's growling, and Riccardo's grunting as Hewie attacked.


	12. TWISTED EVERY WAY

Chapter Twelve

TWISTED EVERY WAY

----------------------

Katie moaned as she felt a warm, wet tounge lick her paw. She opened her eyes, still frazzled from the unusual dream she had just had, and smiled when she saw Hewie happily staring back at her. She sat up in what appeared to be a jail cell. "Oh, Hewie... Are you okay?"

Hewie barked three times, as though to aknowledge her.

"You saved me again... Thank you..." She looked around for Fiona, and her smile fell from her face. "Hewie, can you help me find Fiona?"

Hewie walked over to the little table that was on the other side of the hallway, and grabbed the keys that had been left there. He held them in his mouth, and Katie reached through the bars of the cage to get them from him. She messed with the lock for a few minutes before she was finally able to unlock the door, and slid the old, rusty gate open. She hugged Hewie, petting him at the same time, which he enjoyed. "Thank you, Hewie... Now, let's find Fiona."

Hewie barked, and when she stood up, he took off running down the hallway. Katie followed.

**oOo**

Hewie led Katie back to the doctor's office room, and sure enough, there was Fiona, lying on the patient's table in the middle of the room. She was wearing nothing but a white towel around herself.

"Fiona!" Katie whispered as she rushed into the room. She gently shook Fiona's shoulder. "Wake up!"

Fiona moaned as she opened her eyes, then smiled at Katie as she sat up, holding the towel around her. "Katie... are you all right?"

"I'm fine... What did Riccardo do to you?"

"Nothing much. He just... examined me."

"And you let him?!"

"I was out of it! I was half asleep because of the drugs he gave me!"

"... Did he do anything else?"

She shook her head. "No. I'm posatively _sure_ of that!... But he did say that it would be another couple of days, at most."

Katie raised an eyebrow. "A couple of days for what, exactly?"

"I'm note sure... But Katie, he looks exactly like... He and my father were--"

"Clones, I know. He looks exactly like your dad..."

Hewie barked, startling Fiona, and she smiled when she saw him. "Hewie! You're okay!"

Hewie jumped up onto the table beside her, and she pet him. Finally, Fiona stood up from the table, and began to look around the room for her clothes. When she saw them lying on a pile of boxes, she rushed over to them, grabbed them, then hid behind the curtain in front of the door as she changed.

"Fiona," Katie said. "There's only one way out of here."

"What way?"

"I think... I think we have to kill him."

Fiona gasped. "I'm a lot of things Katie, but I'm no murderer."

"He was willing to kill us! He shot Hewie in the woods, and he wanted to shoot me! He had his gun aimed and me and--" She stopped, remembering that she could have been dead by now, had it not been for the old man's voice. But she brushed it aside for now.

Fiona emerged from behind the curtain, fully dressed, with frightened tears streaming down her face. Hewie walked over to comfort her, and she bent down to puet him. "Good boy," she said with a meek smile.

Katie bent down beside her to pet Hewie as well. "He's such a good dog."

"I know... He's coming with us when we get out of here..." Fiona sniffled, then looked at her.

_[At this point, the song "Twisted Every Way" from "The Phantom Of The Opera begins.]_

_**FIONA: Katie, just leave me--I will get through this. Katie, take Hewie--you must escape this horrible place. He wants me, just **__**me**__**, to be with him forever. He won't let me go. And if I do escape, I will dream... For in my mind, this will not ever end. Debilitas, Daniella, Riccardo--this place... It will always be there haunting me in my mind.**_

_**KATIE: You must believe... he's nothing but a man. Yet, while he lives, he will haunt us 'till we're dead...**_

_**FIONA: Twisted every way, what answer can I give? Why must we risk our lives to win the chance to live? Can I slay the man who bares my father's face? **_

_**KATIE: We have become his prey. We don't have any choice. He kills without a thought, he murders all that's good.**_

_**FIONA: I know I can't refuse, but it still frightens me. Oh God - If we fail, what horrors wait for us in this, Belli Castle?**_

_**KATIE: Fiona, Fiona, don't think that I don't care. But every hope and every prayer rests on us now!**_

Without thinking, Fiona threw her arms around Katie, hugging her.

Katie was surprised by this, but hugged her back.

"I'm so sorry," Fiona said.

"For what?" Katie asked as she pulled back.

"For everything I've ever done to make you hate me in the first place, and for not treating you right when we were in school. I'm so sorry for not being your friend."

Katie smiled. "It's not too late to be."

"Oh, yes it is. He wants me--ME! I'm the one with the Azoth. You have to go, and take Hewie with you!"

Katie shook her head. "No, we're gonna get through this together! And when we get out of here, you can come with me to Maryland. We'll get an apartment there, and start a new life--and we'll have Hewie, too!"

Fiona smiled. "And we... We can go for car rides in the country?" She laughed. "The last car ride I went on didn't turn out so great."

Katie laughed, too. "Okay... When we get to Maryland and get settled, we'll buy a used car, and go on a cross country road trip. We'll even take Hewie with us..." She swallowed hard. "But we won't ever come within a thousand miles of this place again!"

"You've got a deal!"

They hugged once more, and Hewie barked.

* * *

TWISTED EVERY WAY: from "The Phantom Of The Opera"


	13. The End Of Riccardo

Chapter Thirteen

The End Of Riccardo

-----------------------

"Ladies!" Riccardo said from behind them.

The girls turned around to face him... but he was not there.

Hewie stepped forward and began barking at what appeared to be nothing. Then, all of a sudden, Riccardo, litteraly, appeared out of nowhere, swinging his arm at Hewie. "Damn you, you worthless mutt!" he yelled before dissapearing again.

Katie gasped. "Wh--What th--"

Riccardo's laughter was heard, but he could not be seen. "Ah... The formula is working, then. It works directly on the eyes. You can't see me, can you?"

The girls began allert, jerking their heads around for any sign of the demented Riccardo.

Fiona shrieked as she grabbed her ear.

"What?!" Katie yelled.

Fiona's eyes widened. "I think... he just kissed my ear."

Riccardo laughed. "You are mine. I own you." Then, he reapeared in front of Fiona, grinning diabilically. "You are mine. I own you," he repeated before dissapearing again, his laughter echoing off the walls of the hallway.

Katie charged forward in front of Fiona, and rammed into invisible Riccardo, who grunted as they were both knocked to the ground. Katie scrambled back up to her feet, and she and Fiona ran down the hall with Hewie.

**oOo**

Eventually, the girls found their way to the very top of a large tower, and were able to come back outside. They were several hundred feet in the air, on the balcony.

"Fiona," Katie began. " what did you mean earlier, when you said that Riccardo only wanted you?"

"He says that I inherited my father's Azoth, and that with it, he can live forever. In order to do that..." She looked away, almmost ashamed. "... he must be given birth to again... from me."

Katie's eyes widened, and she stared at Fiona for a moment, in complete shock. Then, she shook her head. "I don't even wanna think about how he plans to do that!"

"I have no idea how he would, either. All I know is that I don't want to do it!"

Katie walked over to the edge of the stone balcony, looking down at the waters below. There was a bridge that stretched across the waters. "Hey... I have an idea." She began kicking at the old stone. "Fiona, help me with this. Just start kicking!"

Fiona was confused, but followed Katie's lead non-the-less, and began kicking away at the stone. It started to crack, and eventually, they had weakened it enough to the point where some of the stone broke away from the edge, falling into the water below, making a hole in the wall surrounding the tower. Hewie barked as he ran away, behind the tower base they had just come out of.

"Fiona!" Riccardo's voice echoed. "Why must you deft me? Why do you run?"

Fiona gasped, and the girls whirled around to watch Riccardo reappear behind them. "Let me into your womb!"

The girls back up, close to the hole they had made in the wall, and Riccardo slowly paced forward with a sobey, frustrated look on his face. Then, Hewie ran around from behind the tower base and charged for Riccardo. The girls jumped out of the way just as Riccardo whirled around with wide eyes, and Hewie jumped up at him, ramming him backward, causing him to fall through the hole in the wall, down to the bride below.

"FIONA!!!" he yelled as the girls watched him land hard on the bridge with a loud thud. And there he lay, lifeless.

"No one would survive a fall like that," Fiona said.

Hewie barked, and the girls bent down to pet him, smiling. "Good boy," Fiona said.

"Yes, _very_ good boy," Katie added.

Then, the girls got up and headed back through the tower door, with Hewie following behind.


	14. DOWN ONCE MORE Revealed Secrets

Chapter Fourteen

DOWN ONCE MORE / Revealed Secrets

------------------------

"He's dead!" Fiona exclaimed as the two girls rested up against a wall in a new room they were hiding in. "At last... It's over."

Katie sat next to her, petting Hewie, who sat in between them. "I've never been this relieved in my whole life!"

"And yet... I don't know if we've done the right thing," Fiona said.

_[At this point, a portion of "Down One More/Track Down This Murderer" from "The Phantom Of The Opera" begins to play.]_

_**FIONA: We're not to be prey in his lust for blood. I'm not to be prey to his lust for flesh!... Yet, I can't forget that the man we just killed will forever bare my father's ruined face. That face I admired, that face that I loved... That face, which earned my mother's love and respect. His twin, his clone... Is it possible I regret--**_

_**KATIE: Pitty comes too late, for the man has faced his fate. A short and tragic death for what he's done... Your father's face does not shape just who he was. It was in his soul, the true distrotion lied...**_

Fiona looked at her with a tear in her eye. "You're right... That man was not my father. He was mad..." She shuddered.

Then, a creaking sound was heard.

The girls jumped up to their feet. "Who's there?" Fiona asked.

Out of the shadows came an old man, sitting in a wheele chair, and the creaking sound was coming from the old wheels he was riding on. He was breathing heavily. "Poor girls..." he said in a familiar, elderly voice. "Riccardo put you through quite a bit, didn't he? Unlike Ugo, he was always a troublemaker. A bad apple/"

Katie's eyes widened. "Hey... You're the guy on the phone--and in the woods!"

The man nodded. "Yes... I didn't want him to kill you, my precious Katie. You are both very special to me..."

"You knw my father? Who are you?" Fiona asked.

The man looked up at them, and when they looked closer, he appeared to be a much older, elderly version of Riccardo! "I, Aureoulus Lorenzo Belli, created both of them... Riccardo and Ugo..." There was a short pause before he continued. "But then along came that wenche, Ayla. She stole Ugo away from me!" He wheeled a little closer to them. "Of course, then you came along, my dear... My dear Fiona. And Ugo would write to me regularly, telling me of you and your well being..." He grinned. "In his letters, he told me of his infidelity to Ayla."

"Infidelity?" Fiona asked in a bewildered whisper.

He nodded. "Yes... One year after you were born, Ugo met another woman... She was in a little trouble, you see, as she chose to marry a drunk! He was no good for her, and she was lonely. So, he..." His voice trailed off. Then, he continued. "Anyway, a child was produced out of the affair. A daughter... The woman's name was Marian Anderson."

Katie's eyes widened. "My... My mother?!"

He grinned. "Have you two not compared the birthmarks on your shoulders?... Wasn't it obvious before now?" He shook his head. "I suppose that it does not matter. After all, fate had brought you both back to me! And now you are both mine... All mine!" He began wheeling himself forward, laughing hysterically.

"NOOOO!" the girls screamed before they opened the door to the room and ran out, with Hewie behind them, and they closed the door behind them.

**oOo**

"It's not true..." Fiona said as she paced around back and forth in the office room they were hiding in. "It can't be true! My father loved my mother!"

"Fiona," Katie said. " as much as I hate to admit it, it makes sense, considering that we have the same birthmark."

Fiona marched over to a desk in the corner, and pounded her fist down onto it, in an effort to releave the frustration. As the rammed her fist down, a drawer popped open. Inside were all old envelopes with familiar handwritting on them. Fiona took them out and examined them.

"What is it?" Katie asked as she and Hewie walked over to Fiona to see the letters.

"They're letters from Daddy... addressed to Lorenzo," she replied.

Katie raised an eyebrow. "This place has an address?"

Fiona took the most recent letter out of the envelope, unfolded the paper, and read it aloud.

_Dear Father,_

_I apologize for not writing to you as of late, but I needed the time to think some things through a little bit._

_Ayla has forgien me for my infidelities, and understands that Marian was looking for comfort. In fact, she came with me recently, when my second child was born. However, Marian still has a husband, and because of his abusive tendancies, we must let him believe that he is the father of the child. Therefor, I must stay away. Marian named the baby Katelyn, and Ayla even held her! Fiona was not there, as we left her with Ayla's parents._

_You've been asking me in your letters when I am going to bring Ayla and Fiona to meet you, and the answer is never. I'm sorry, but I believe that it would be best if we did not keep contact after this final letter. The world you and Riccardo live in is much to demented for me to instroduce my family to, and I now have a new, peaceful life that I must live._

_Say goodbye to Riccardo for me,_

_Ugo_

The girls looked at each other with wide eyes. "It really is true..." Fiona said. "This is Daddy's hand writing. It must be true!"

Katie blinked. "Then, you and I... we're--

"Sisters," Fiona interrupted.

* * *

DOWN ONCE MORE: from "The Phantom Of The Opera"


	15. OLD LORENZO, THE ALCHEMIST

Chapter Fifteen

OLD LORENZO, THE ALCHEMIST (GRIZABELLA, THE GLAMOUR CAT)

---------------------

The girls looked at each other with wide eyes. "It really is true..." Fiona said. "This is Daddy's hand writing. It must be true!"

Katie blinked. "Then, you and I... we're--"

"Sisters," Fiona interrupted.

They stared at each other, completely wide eyed, and the sound of Hewie's bark brought them out of their shocked state of thought.

Fiona shook her head. "We... We need to get moving. Lorenzo might be coming after us."

Just as they began marching towards the door, they heard a click, and the doorknob turned. Lorenzo pushed the door open from the other side, and slowly wheeled his way into the room. "Fiona... Katie... Why did you run?"

"We're sorry," Katie said. "But... We needed proof that what you were saying was true."

Fiona shakily held out her hand, showing him the letter. "Daddy didn't want us to come here, right?"

Lorenzo grunted. "Yes, that's right--the fool!... But now, It is time for me to take back what's mine... I want your Azoth, Fiona..." He outstretched him arm to them. "And Katie... I want your company, for the rest of eternity."

The two hesitated, and stepped back.

Lorenzo frowned. "You have fought long and hard to come to this point, but now... you must soccumb to your limitaions. I am old, but I am not not powerless. Believe me when I saw that you should come with me... if you value your lives... For only I hold the key out of this place, of which you will not get!"

Katie opened her mouth to protest, but was surprise by Fiona, who stepped forward.

"Lorenzo," she said in a low voice. " you may have my Azoth."

Katie's eyes widened, and Hewie growled.

Lroenzo grinned, and he eyes Katie. "And you, my dear?"

Katie looked at Fiona, almost wanting to cry. Fiona turned to look back at her... and winked. Katie caught the hint, and sighed. "I suppose... we can at least be proud of ourselves... for making it this far..." She nodded and looked at Lorenzo. "Alright... I'll stay with you."

"Good," he muttered.

Fiona walked over to him and walked around to the back of the chair, taking the handles and pulling him out of the room. Katie followed as Fiona wheeled him down the hall.

**oOo**

It was a quiet walk down the hallway, with Fiona wheeling Lorenzo, who was almost asleep, but not quite, and Hewie and Katie walking beside her. Katie shot a few glances over at Fiona, and she nodded, aknowledging her.

_[At this point, the song "Grizabella, The Glamour Cat" from "CATS" begins to play, and the girls sing along with it.]_

_**FIONA: Remark the man who wheels his way towards you. In the light of the door which open on him like a grin. You see the hairs upon his head are gone, and left him bald. And you see the color of his eyes, black at the night.**_

Fiona looked over at Katie, signaling for her to join in the song. Katie saw that Lorenzo was now allert to what they were singing, and seemed to be taking it all in, so she sang.

_**KATIE: He haunted for years, this castle... near the lonely road where Ugo died. He lives secretly in his ghostly home, and his greatest fear is to be alone. And his age was shown with his hand outstretched. You really had thought he ought to be dead.**_

_**FIONA: And who would ever suppose that that was...**_

_**BOTH: Old Lorenzo, the alzhemist. Old Lorenzo, the alchemist. And who would ever suppose that that was old Lorenzo, the alchemist...**_

Lorenzo's elderly face seemed to be lost in a haze of sorrow as he stared blankly ahead, down the hall.

Then, all of a sudden, Fiona got this determined, angry look on her face, and she gripped the handles of the wheelchair... then, raised it up into the air like a wheel barrol, dumbing Lorenzo onto the floor with a yelp!

"RUN!" Fiona exclaimed as she, Katie, and Hewie took off running down the hall past him.

"FIONA! KATIE!" Lorenzo exclaimed in a loud, horse voice.

**oOo**

Katie looked back occasionally as they ran, seeing that Lorenzo was crawling after them very quickly. "Man, he's fast!" she exclaimed as they turned a corner, down another hall.

"I know," Fiona replied breathlessly. As they ran, she noticed that the hallway was lit up by candles on the wall, and there were boxes of crates piled along the walls. She glances at the lables on the boxes, which read, 'amunition'. "But I think I have an idea." She ran over to the wall and grabbed a candle, then waited.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Katie exclaimed.

At that moment, Lorenzo came crawling out from behind the corner, and he stopped to catch his breath, staring at them eerilly as he breathed heavily.

Fiona threw the candle at him, and it landed on the floor, next to the boxes. Then, she ran over to one side of the room, but Katie had the wrong idea, and ran towards the opposite side.

Lorenzo rushed to crawl over to her, grabbed her ankle, and tripped her up, causing Katie to fall on the floor.

Then, the sound of burning wood came from behind him, and Lorenzo looked back to see that the boxes of amunition had caught on fire.

Fiona stood there with Hewie beide her, watching in horror as both Katie and Lorenzo shouted, "FIONA!!!"

She reached out her arm to pull Katie out of the way, but it was too late. The amunition exploded into a blaze, knocking Fiona and Hewie to the ground. When the smoke and dust had clearned, Fiona sat up and saw that the blast had created a large hole in the floor... and neither Katie or Lorenzo were anywhere to be found.

She and Hewie got back to their feet and rushed over to look down into the hole. It was nothing but a black abise, and she couldn't see anything but darkness.

"Katie..." she whispered in shock. Then, she screamed, "KATIE!"

Hewie howled, and then jumped down the hole, as if to follow after Katie.

"HEWIE! NO!" Fiona screamed. "HEWIE!"

* * *

GRIZABELA, THE GLAMOUR CAT: from "CATS"

P.S. For those of you who have played the game, I'm going to cut out the part where Lorenzo is crushed on the convayor belt, because it wouldn't fit into this version of the story.


	16. HIS BAD DEEDS

Chapter Sixteen

HIS BAD DEEDS (NO GOOD DEED)

----------------------

Katie opened her eyes to see Lorenzo, groaning as he lay helpess on the floor. She felt something warm and wet rub against her face, and she sat up with a right to find Hewie, licking her. She smiled and pet him as she stood up to find that she was now in another hallway. "I'm okay, Hewie. Good boy..."

Lorenzo looked up at them with an angry frown. "Katie... You've doomed yourself..." Then, he started groaning even louder, and Katie watched in shock as he began to... shapeshift! Within seconds, Lorenzo stood up on his feet, looking much younger than he acntually was, and he was the spitting image of Ugo Belli. He looked at her and chuckled. "You could have just left things alone," he said in a much youthful voice, that sounded a little like Riccardo's.

Katie began to back away, but with every step she took, he would come one step closer. Hewie growled at him.

"You could have just stayed out of this matter entirely, and left Fiona to me... But now, yo will suffer an untimely end..."

Katie shook her head. Then, a thought struck her. "... How were you able to shape shift just now?"

He stopped in his tracks, and his grin melted into a frown.

Katie's mind came to a realization, and her eyes widened. "Riccardo wanted Fiona's Azoth so that he could live forever... Would that mean that he would have been able to shapeshift to different ages, too?"

Lorenzo made no reply, but continued to stare at her angrily.

Katie smirked. "Of course... You don't dare hurt me right now, because I am also Ugo's child... which means that I have an Azoth, too!... But, if that's the case, why do you favor Fiona over--" At that moment, she came to another eye popping realization, and she made an angry face. "You're sick..."

Lorenzo grinned. "Ah, Fiona... She is a beautiful girl, isn't she? Quite attractive... And yes, my dear. You do have an Azoth, but Riccardo and I both favored Fiona a great deal." He resumed pacing forward. "Now Katie... It's time for you to die!"

At that moment, Hewie barked loudly, and charged forward at him.

"Hewie! Be careful!" Katie exclaimed.

**oOo**

Fiona was blindly running through the halls, trying to find her poor friends. "Katie? Hewie? Where are you?!" She ran through yet another door, and as she ran through to another room, the door closed behind her, and she gasped. She grabbed the knob and tried to open it, but it was locked.

"You've been very naughty, Fiona. You're causing me much grief," Lorenzo's youthful voice echoed.

She looked around to try and find the sorce of the voice, but there was no one in sight. She trued opening the door again, only to be met with the same results.

"What are you doing, Fiona? Just where do you intend to run?"

Finally, Fiona gave up on the door, and began running down the new hallway, which appeared to be more like a living room area, with Lorenzo's mennesing voice hanging in the air.

"I can see you clearly form here, Fiona..."

She came to another door and opened it, only to be met with a stone wall behind it.

"Aha. Looks like a dead end, dear. How unfortunate."

Fiona was so furstrated that she slammed the door shut.

"No need to get so upset, my dear."

As she rushed away from the door, she was about to pass by a bookshelf, when all of a sudden, it fell down in front of her, almost hitting her. She gasped.

"That was a close one, eh Fiona?"

Fiona ran back down the hallway and found a dark brown closset.

"Have you longed for me as I've longed for you?" Lorenzo's voice said seductively.

Fiona opened the door of the closet, stepped inside, and closed it behind her.

Lorenzo laughed. "Do you really think you can hide from me there? Oh, how I love thee, Azoth! You simply cannot understand. Why must you run from me? Everything I do is for the Great Truth! At last, you and Katie are mine Fiona!"

"Katie?" she asked in a whisper as she stepped out of the closset. "Where are Katie and Hewie?!" she yelled.

Lorenzo laughed.

Fiona began running back down the hallway again. "KATIE!!! HEWIE!!!" she yelled. "Oh, God... Please no..."

_[At this point, the song "No Good Deed" from "Wicked" begins, and Fiona sings along with it.]_

_**FIONA: Let their flesh not be torn. Let their blood leave no stain. If he beats them, let them feel no pain. Let their bones never break. And however he tries to destroy them, let them never die! Let them never die!**_

She grunted out of frustration as she continued to run down the hallway.

_**FIONA: What good is this running? I don't even know where I'm going! I wish I knew what trick he's going to try. Katie and Hewie, where are you? Already dead or bleeding? One more desaster that will add to our generous supply!**_

She began to feel bad for ever getting captured in the first place. Then, maybe Katie would be out of danger by now, had it not been for her.

_**FIONA: Her good deed is now punished! Her act of saving me is now resented! Her good deed is now punished! Lorenzo's creed--his road of bad intentions--leads where such roads always lead. Her good deed is now punished!**_

Finally, Fiona stopped running, and let a few tears spill over as she continued to sing.

_**FIONA: My parents... Hewie... Katie... KATIE!!! One question haunts me, too much, too much to mention: If she's still alive, does Katie now regret it? Is this where her good deeds end? Somewhere in castle, has she died? If that is the case, then Lorenzo, too, must die!**_

She took off running down the hallway again, more determined than ever.

_**FIONA: His bad deeds will be punished! All threatening urges will be circumvented! His bad deeds will be punished! Poor Katie meant well. Well, look at what well-meant did. Alright, enough--so be it! So be it, then. Lorenzo, I now see you're wicked through and through. And since I may not succeed, Katie and Hewie, in saving you, I promise no bad deed will he ever attempt to do again! Ever again! His bad deeds will be punished!**_

When she turned a corner at the end of the hall, there was yet another door, but the lock clicked, and it opened by itself for her.

"Come to me, Fiona... Come to me, Fiona," Lorenzo's voice echoed.

Fiona was hesitant, but ran through the open door anyway. The ticked of a clock echoed loudly in the air... along with the sound of the door creaking closed behind her.

"The great Aureolus Belli once said," Lorenzo continued. " 'The most valuable thing in the world is this Great Truth.' Human beings... Human life... They are not capable of grasping this truth. We cannot merely sit idle and await the future. We must dedicate our lives to the realization of the truth! "

Poor Fiona wandered around in the room, looking up at the ceiling, where the voice was thought to be echoed. Then, she heard another door unlock, and gasped with fright.

"Ah, FIona... No, my Azoth... Come to me. Come to me..."

Fiona ran up to the door and opened it. She carefully pushed it open and walked in. After she had closed it, she noticed something... or someone... out of the corner of her eye, and turned to look in horror at a younger Lorenzo, to was grinning at her. She didn't take her eyes off of him as she backed up further into the room, with him walking towards her, chuckling. However, his face looked familier.

"Daddy?" she asked.

He chuckled. "Ah, Fiona... My dear holder of the Azoth..." He reached his hand out to caress her cheek, of which she slapped away.

"What's going on? You're not my..."

"Azoth is the essence of life! We alchemists have the ability to convert it into power! We can live forever! Your Azoth, Fiona, belongs to me!" Then, he began laughing and menacingly jerking his head around, just like Daniella did. He began having his arms around in the air, and yelling, as though it was hurting him.

Fiona wathced as he shapeshifted to an even younger version of himself--a more youthful version of her father--and he grinned. "Come to me, Fiona. I will nto extract the Azoth latent in you, in order to realize the everlasting life of Aureolus Belli." He reached his arm out to grab her.

Fiona stood there, frightened and afraid. This was it. It was over for her. Wherever Katie and Hewie were, she would soon be joining them.

_"BARK! BARK! BARK!"_

Lorenzo frowned and looked all around the room, trying to find the source of the echoing bark.

Fiona looked around as well, wide eyed.

_"Fiona!"_ Katies voice echoed.

* * *

NO GOOD DEED: from "WICKED"

P.S. The next chapter is going to be pretty long, because I've made up a back story about Debilitas, Daniella, Riccardo, and Lorenzo, and how they came to live in the castle. It might be a little confusing at first, but I'm going to try and clear up as much of it as possible, because I think that the game left a lot of blank spaces in the stories of these characters. The next chapter shows that there is a reason that Lorenzo is the way he is, and everything else just falls into place from there. Enjoy!


	17. Visions Of Lorenzo's Past

Chapter Seventeen

Visions Of Lorenzo's Past

---------------------------

"Now Katie... It's time for you to die!"

At that moment, Hewie barked loudly, and charged forward at him.

"Hewie! Be careful!" Katie exclaimed.

Lorenzo yelled as he struggled to pry Hewie's sharp teeth from the skin on his arm. Finally, with one grunt, he thrust his arm forward, throwing Hewie to across the room, knocking him hard against the wall, and the poor dog yelped.

"Hewie!" Katie cried as she ran over to him, picked him up, and carried him down the hall as she ran away from Lorenzo. As she turned a corner, loosing sight of their enemy, she heard him say...

"Go ahead and run! It's only a matter of time before you are taken care of once and for all!"

**oOo**

"Come on Hewie," Katie whispered as they hid in a small storage room. Hewie had been knocked unconcious, and she was on the verge of crying. "If you can survive a gunshot wound, you can live through this." She pulled Hewie close to her chest and burried her head in his soft, white furr."Oh, Hewie..."

At that moment, a small light appeared, shining brightly. She opened her eyes and looked down at her chest. Her heart appeared to be... glowing! "Wh... What is this?" she asked in bewilderment.

Then, Hewie slowly opened his eyes and barked happily.

"Hewie! You're all right!" she exclaimed as she hugged him, which caused the light to grow stronger. At first, she was frightened. Then, she realized something. "Is this my... Azoth?"

On that note, the light grew even brighter, and it engulfed the entire room, blinding Katie.

_**oOo**_

Katie looked down at Hewie, who was stanging beside her, looking up at her. He appeared to be almost transparent, and she could see right through him, as though he were a ghost. She looked at her arms and legs to find that she was in the same condition. "What in the world is this?" She watched the scene that lay before her.

_The court yard outside the castle was full of vibrant, colorful flowers. The sun was shgining brightly down onto the castle, making it look like a beautiful place. There were people in work clothes working around the court yard._

_The young man, who was sitting in the middle of the flower bed, was quit handsome. He had short, silver hair and blue eyes, with pale skin, and shining teeth that could be seen through his handsome smile. He wore a fancy white dress shirt with brown pants, and fancy brown shoes._

_"Your majesty!" a familiar voice exclaimed._

_The young man looked up from the flowers and frowned as a very young Lorenzo came running up to him. He stood up and turned to face Lorenzo._

_Lorenzo stopped in front of him, and began breathing heavily from running as he spoke. "I just recieved word from the chancellor. You cannot possibly be throwing me out onto the street!"_

_"I am Lorenzo," the young king replied. "Your ideals are far too outragous, not to mention dangerous."_

_"But I'm telling you! The Azoth I have created will help to show us thet secrets of the Great Truth! You cannot make me leave when my findings are leading me to so many great things! There's even a chance that we could find the key to immortality! Please, my king!" He reached into his pocket and took out a small stone. "Look at this! This is one of my Azoth prototypes. It's been tested and it works! Can't you see that I'm so close to completing my research? I am in need of your support!"_

_The king shook his head. "You have always been a good friend to me, Lorenzo, and this is hard on me. But I must do what is best for my people. And your ideals will surely endagure them..." He turned on his heel and walked away saying, "You must leave tomorrow. Go home to your wife."_

_Lorenzo stood there, watching the young kind walk away, feeling dissapointed... and obviously angry._

_**oOo**_

_Lorenzo snuck into the king's quarters that night, where he slept in his king sized bed. For a moment, Lorenzo stood above him, looking down at him angrilly. Then, he slowly bent down, his hand hovering above the king's mouth. Then, he abruptly clamped his hand over the king's mouth, causing him to wake up immediatly. The poor king struggled, but Lorenzo held him down. He reached into his pocket, taking out a small stone, grinning menacingly. "Go home to my wife, indeed." He said as he pressed the stone to the king's chest. "This will get you out of the way indefinately!"_

_At that moment, a bright light surrounded the king, and he appeared to... shapeshift into a new shape._

_**oOo**_

_News of the king's dissaperance caused panic in Belli Castle, so much so that Lorenzo had to take over the throne. His first order of business was to make everyone in the castle leave, and when they did, he moved his beautiful wife, who was expecting a child, into the large castle with him. Lorenzo spent most of the time converting the many rooms of the castle into laboratory rooms, and places where he could build his machinery. He would continue his resurch and record his findings in the evening, when his wife was asleep. He had managed to harness the power of an Azoth in the form of several small stones. But once they were used once, they were destroyed, as a mere stone was not powerful enough to harness an Azoth's power, but it was enough for a while._

_Then, one evening, his wife was ready to give birth, and it was Lorenzo who had to deliver the child. It was a beautiful baby boy, who looked almost exaclty like his father._

_"Look at him, love. Is he not beautiful?" Lorenzo asked happily as he presented the baby to her._

_His wife, who has beautiful red hair and a flawless face, smiled weakly at the child. "He's wonderful..."_

_Lorenzo smiled at his wife. "You must be exausted."_

_She shook her head. "This is more than fatigue... I don't feel well. I feel so... weak, and I am getting weaker still."_

_"You just had a child, it's natural."_

_However, her face abruptly turned paler, and as she looked at him, her breath became heavier, and it was getting harder for her to breath. "Lorenzo... I think..." With one deep breath, she closed her eyes, and her head fell to one side on the pillow._

_Lorenzo's eyes widened as she lay there, perfectly still. His smile fell from his face, and was replaced with a scared expression. "Wake up, love," he said shakilly. "Our child needs you... Don't leave us... Love?!"_

_**oOo**_

_Lorenzo opened the door of his machine in his main laboratory. Inside was a collection of Azoth stones that he had created for this occasion. The baby was asleep, so now was the perfect time to perform this experiment. This was a rather rushed project, and he'd hoped that everything would go well. He carried the body of his young wife, who had not been dead for very long, over to the machine and placed her inside on top of the stones, then closed the door. He walked over to the lever on the wall and pulled it down. After a few seconds, a bright light flashed inside the machine, as it could be seen through the small window. There were a few electrical noises coming from the machinery, but that toned down as the process finished._

_Lorenzo pushed the lever up again, shutting the machinery off when the light had faded away. He walked over to the machine and opened the door, grinning at the end result of his experiment. The hamonulus was the exact image of his late wife, only her hair was not read, more of a dark pink color, and her skin was a perewinkle shade._

_He took her hand and helped her out of the machine, then looked inside. All of the stones had been destroyed in the process of creating her. He grinned at her, and she stared back at him with blank eyes. "You are the perfect woman," he said ina low voice. "You can no longer feel pain, my dear. As far as I'm concerned, you never died."_

_She nodded. "Understood, Master."_

_He smiled wider. "That's right. I am your master... My dear love... Daniella."_

_**oOo**_

_That evening, Daniella was holding the quiet baby, patting him gently on the back as she rocked with him in the rocking chair._

_The door opened, and Lorenzo came into the room, smiling. "How is everything, love?"_

_"Fine Master," she replied soberly._

_He walked over and took the child from her. He looked at him happily, then, his eyes widened and he gasped. He looked at Daniella and said, "This child is not breathing... Did you not notice it?"_

_"No, Master."_

_He rushed the baby over to his crip, laid him down, and began doing mouth-to-mouth to try and help him breath, but it was no use. "Oh, no... No..." He looked at Daniella angrily. "Couldn't you feel that he was not breathing?!" he yelled._

_She shook her head. "I cannot feel anything, Master."_

_Lorenzo opened his mouth to speak, but could think of nothing to say. He looked back at his poor child, picked him up, and held him close. "I will help you," he whispered._

_**oOo**_

_Lorenzo pushed the lever up again, shutting the machinery off when the light had faded away. He walked over to the machine and opened the door, grinning at the end result of his experiment. The hamonulus was a huge, strong looking man, with no hair on it's head, and wide eyes. When it looked at him, it smiled and laughed horsly._

_"All is well again, my boy.... Debilitas."_

_**oOo**_

_Five-hundred years later, Lorenzo lived peacefully with Daniella and Debilitas, and continued his research on the Azoth. One day, Debilitas found a dog wandering alone in the woods. When Lorenzo saw how attatched Debilitas had become, he allowed the dog to live with them, thinking that he would be no threat, and gave him a collar, with a name tag, baring a rather special name..._

_From what Lorenzo was able to determin in his research, as long as he was close enough to an Azoth stone, he was able to draw from it's energy, and used it to keep himself young. But when he was only a few feet away from it, that energy would leave him, and his true age would show, and would bring about death, meaning that he was quite restricted, and could not leave the castle. Deciding that carrying around severall small, non-permanent stones was an inconveniance, he created a large, bowling ball sized Azoth that would have enough energy to sustain him anywhere in the castle, as long as he did not leave the grounds. He hid the Azoth stone somewhere deep in the lower floors of the castle, but despite now feeling more free to roam around, he yearned to leave the castle and share his findings with the world. So, he decided to try a new experiment that involved a human, being born with Azoth atributes made into it. The experiment was a success, and resulted in two clones of himself, whom he named Riccardo and Ugo, however, only Ugo was born with the Azoth. Lorenzo and Daniella continued on to raise the two boys, and were quite happy, until the day when Ugo was walking around outside the castle, and met a young woman named Ayla._

_Eventually, Ugo expressed his desire to leave the castle to be with Ayla. Even though it was painful, Lorenzo agreed to let Ugo go, as he would still have Riccardo to keep him company. Until one day..._

_Riccardo opened the door of the tower bedroom and pushed Lorenzo inside, causing him to fall on the floor. He got up just in time to watch Riccardo close and lock the door behind him. "What are you doing?!" Lorenzo exclaimed as he ran over to the door, banging on it._

_"I'm taking over, old man," Riccardo replied from behind the door. "It's time you stepped down from your position as keeper of this castle. Be thankful that I'm letting you live!"_

_Lorenzo heard Riccardo march away, and shouted, "You ungrateful brat! Let me out!" He paced angrilly to the back of the room, pounding on the walls. Then, he began to feel strange all over, and he watched in horror as his body shrivled to the form of a one-hungred-year-old man, who was so old that he couldn't even walk, and he fell to the floor screaming, "NOOO!" He began crawing slowly over to the door. "Lorenzo! Lorenzo! Lore..." He had to stop to cough, as he was getting weak already. Reaching out his old arm to the door, he mumbled, "Don't go, Lorenzo... I'm too far away from our Azoth stone. My life... My Azoth... Lorenzo..."_

_Then, the sound of a dog barking was heard from behind the door._

_Old Lorenzo made an angry face. "YOU!" he shouted in an old, horse voice. "I should never have let you live!"_

_**oOo**_

_Twenty years later, from his tower prison, Lorenzo had eyes and ears set up all over the castle, using as many of his limited resorces as possible. He always spit at Riccardo's very name for what he was doing to the place. To start with, he destroyed all of Lorenzo's Azoth stone machines, meaning that no more homonusus could be created, and no more stones could be protuduced. Riccardo also installed some foolish laboratory machinery to conduct his twisted experiments, with Lorenzo's poor Daniella blindly helping him, not knowing any better._

_Then, one day, Lorenzo watched as two helpless young woman and the wretched dog ran amoke all over the castle. Riccardo had at least been curtious enough to bring him a wheelchair, but it didn't make up for what he had done. Then, one day, he found the perfect oppertunity to pick up the telephone in his room, and call down to one of the hallways, where the girls were. One of them picked up, and he spoke horsly to her._

_"Fiona... Then... this must be Katie, is it not?... You and Fiona must pay attention now, Katie. Be wary of Riccardo... Fiona's Azoth..."_

_Then, at that moment, the door to the room flew open. Lorenzo jumped, dropping the phone as he looked over at the door, grinning at Debilitas, who stood there curiously. He wheeled over to his homonculus son and chuckled. "Good boy, Debilitas."_

_Debilitas turned and marched out of the doorframe, with Lorenzo following._

_**oOo**_

_Lorenzo sat there, numb to everything else around him as he stared at Daniella, with a shard of glass through her chest. Riccardo could show up at any moment, and not even that could be worse than the pain he was feeling at the moment. It was as though his beloved wife had dies all over again. He wheeled himself over to his poor love... Well, she wasn't really his love, but he had hoped that she would fill the void that his wife left behind. However, because she could not feel in very much of any way, his heart was even more broken than before. He took hold of her lifeless hand and screamed out horsely. Then, he dried his eyes. "Don't worry, my love... I will make whoever did this to your pay... I promise..."_

_**oOo**_

Katie and Hewie stood there and watched the scene before them dissapear, and they stood there in a gray, empty space. Katie was wide eyed at the events she had just witnessed. She shook her head. "Whoo! This place really is demented!"

Hewie barked in agreement.

"Okay, now that I know the back story about this place, I think we now have a better understanding about Lorenzo. He must have a weakness somewhere in this mix... But for right now, we've gotta find Fiona, boy!" She placed her hand on Hewie's head, and he panted happily. She gestured to her chest with her other hand. "Maybe this Azoth of mine can help us..." She then concentraited very hard on Fiona, thinking of nothing else but her. After a minute or two, another bright light appeared in front of them, and it acted like an opening white vortex. There was Fiona, with Lorenzo cornering her against a wall.

"BARK! BARK! BARK!" Hewie yelled loudly.

Lorenzo and Fiona looked around, trying to find the source of the noise.

"Fiona!" Katie screamed as she and Hewie ran through the vortex.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** I know that this chapter seems really weird, but that's the best part about Haunting Ground. Because it's already demento-fied, there are so many other ways to make it so much wierder!... and cooler, hopefully. I kind of used a reference from the third ending of the game for Lorenzo, when he's first locked up in his room by Riccardo. Thank goodness I watched "Full Metal Alchemist", or else I don't think I would have thought of this!... I hope you like the back stories I created for the characters. I'll be updating again soon!


	18. ANGEL OF MUSIC

Chapter Eighteen

ANGEL OF MUSIC

-----------------------

_"BARK! BARK! BARK!"_

Lorenzo frowned and looked all around the room, trying to find the source of the echoing bark.

Fiona looked around as well, wide eyed.

_"Fiona!"_ Katies voice echoed.

Lorenzo balled his fists at his sides, and parted his lips to expose his clenched teeth.

_[At this point, the song "The Mirror / Angel Of Music" from "The Phantom Of The Opera" begins, and Fiona and Lorenzo begin to sing along with it.]_

_**LORENZO: Insolent girl, you constant nuisence, basking in my glory! Ignorent dog, you foolish mongrel, ruining my truimph!**_

_**FIONA: Katie, I hear you. Speak, I listen. Come to my side. Help me... Hewie, my strength is weak, forgive me. Protect me please, my friend.**_

_**KATIE (voice echoing): Oh, my dear sister, don't worry. These trials are nothing to fear. You can be sure me and Hewie will always be here!**_

_[At that moment, an explosion of light appears in between the two, blinding Lorenzo. Fiona's eyes widen and a smile appears on her face as Hewie jumps out of the light, landing on all four paws, and then Katie walks out, and the two continue their song, facing each other happily.]_

_**BOTH: Angel of Music, my dear sister, I will always be here! Angel of Music, my dear friend, I will never leave you!**_

_**LORENZO: I want you, my dea Fiona... Come to me, my dear Fiona...**_

The girls directed their attention to Lorenzo, who was staring at them angrilly.

Hewie growled and jumped up at him, this time, jumping on his head with a loud mark, causing him to fall backwards on the ground. The girls seized the oppertunity to run past him, pull the door to the room open, ran out, and Hewie followed them, barking.

**oOo**

The girls sat next to each other on the floor, with Hewie in between them.

"I thought for sure that you two were dead," Fiona said as Hewie licked her face.

"Well, I had Hewie, so I wasn't in too much trouble," Katie replied. "And something wierd happened..."

"What?"

Katie gestured to her chest. "I figured out that... I have an Azoth, too."

Fiona looked at her, but didn't appear to be too surprised. "That makes sense, seeing as we're both Ugo Belli's children."

"Yes, but there's more... Somehow, I was able to use my Azoth to see visions of the past--Lorenzo's past!"

Now, Fiona's eyes were wide with interest. "What did you see?"

"It's a long story," Katie began. "Apparently, Lorenzo used to work for the king of this castle hundreds of years ago, but when his ideas about the Azoth got too radical, the king got scared and told him to leave. Then when he got angry, Lorenzo snuck into the king's room while he was sleeping and used one of his Azoth stones that he had created to... I don't even know what he did... Anyway, after the king dissapeared, he and his wife moved into the castle where he could continue his reasurch. His wife died while giving birth to their first child, and then he tried to bring her back with Azoth stones, and that created something called a homonculus, thus resulting in Daniella's existance. After that, the baby died in his sleep, and Lorenzo tried to bring him back in the same manner, resulting in Debilitas. They were able to stay alive for the next five-hundred years with the help of the Azoth stones, but Lorenzo still had a lot of work to do, as he couldn't really leave the castle or the stones, or else he would quickly age and die. So, he tried to create human Azoths that weren't so limited, resulting in Riccardo and Ugo. Ugo left to marry your mother Ayla, and Riccardo imprisoned Lorenzo and took over the castle... That's where you and I came in and wreck everything else."

Fiona's jaw dropped open the entire time Katie was telling her Lorenzo's story. "Wow... No wonder he's so messed up!"

"He was messed up _before_ his wife died, Fiona. He used his demented Azoth experiments to get rid of the king, and the rest just played out for there. Even if he did used to be good, there's no changing him back."

Fiona nodded, taking Katie's hand. "I know you're right... The only way to bring peace for all of us is to get rid of him... somehow."

Katie thought for a moment. "From what I could tell from my vision, he has a large Azoth stone hidden somewhere in the castle. He's been living off of it's energy, but can't get too far away from here without dying. If we can just find that stone--"

Then, Hewie barked again and stood off, taking off running down the hall.

"Hewie!" Fiona called out as she stood up to follow him.

"Hewie, wait!" Katie shouted as she followed Fiona's lead.

* * *

ANGEL OF MUSIC: from "THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA"


	19. THE POINT OF NO RETURN

Chapter Nineteen

THE POINT OF NO RETURN

------------------------

"Hewie!" the girls yelled as they ran as fast as they could to keep up with the dog, who was running very fast down the hall. He was turning corners so fast that as soon as they would catch sight of him, he would dissapear again. Finally, they caught up with Hewie, who was barking at a wall.

"Hewie's barking..." Fiona said as she looked up at the wall in question. "Is he trying to tell us something about this wall?"

Katie also looked up at the wall, and saw that there appeared to be something carved into it, in an awqward, yet familiar shape. The girls reached up to touch the wall, then they each yelped when they felt a shapr pain on the pack of their shoulders. They reached their around around, rubbing the sour spot, and realized that they were rubbing where their birth marks were.

Fiona made the connection. "This carving is in the shape of..."

"... our... birthmarks?" Katie finished for her.

At that moment, the carving in the wall turned bright red, highlighting the mark for them to see completely. Then, just as quickly as it appeared, the mark faded away, and the wall slowly parted, revealing a secret compartment. Inside was a round, bowling-ball sized white stone.

Fiona gasped. "This must be it... Lorenzo's main stone."

"We have to get rid of it," Katie said as she reached up to grab it carefully, taking it off of it's stand."

"You need help carrying it?" Fiona asked.

"No, I do a lot of bowling in my spare time, so this is nothing!" Katie joked with a smile.

Fiona noticed something else that was shining in the place where the stone was, and she smiled happily as she reached down to take it. "Another key!"

Then, Hewie took off running down the hall again.

"Hewie!" Fiona exclaimed as he turned a corner.

"Oh, no..." Katie grumbled as they followed him, only slower this time, because Katie was carrying the heavy stone.

**oOo**

When they turned yet another corner, they found themselves standing in a doorframe, in front of a large, open room. Katie sat the stone down in a hidden corner behind the door, behind the shadows before they went inside. There was a large hole in the center of the room, with that appeared to be hot lava boiling inside. The room was hot, and the interior was themed with the color red, obviously meant to match the lava.

"Hewie?" Fiona called out softly. "Where are you?"

However, no answer came in any form, not even a bark.

Katie gulped as she walked over to the pit and looked down into the lava. "You don't think he fell in there, do you?" she asked in a low whisper.

Fiona walked over to stand beside her, looking down at the lava as well. "Don't think about that."

They both stood there silently, wondering where their special dog friend was.

Katie looked up, and saw that there was another door, right across from them, wide open, and at the end of what appeared to be a long, green hallways was a light. Her eyes lit up. "Fiona... I think I see a way out of here!"

Fiona looked up, and had the same reaction, only with a wide smile. "It is... I'm sure of it... We must believe that it is!" Her smile fell from her face. "But we must find Hewie first. We have to. He's been with all this time."

"We can't leave him now," Katie added. "Let's keep looking."

The girls turned to head back down the hallway they came through, in search of Hewie.

"Your effort is for naught," a devious voice said behind them.

The girls instantly whirled around and stared at Lorenzo, who was standing across from them, on the other side of the lava pit. He was looking down at the floor, chuckling. "How long do you plan to keep this up?" Then, he looked up at them and said, "Let's finish this, ladies." He began slwoly walking around the lava pit, and the girls began walking at the same pace, in the other direction, not breaking eye contact with him.

_[At this point, the song "The Point Of No Return" from "The Phantom Of The Opera" begins, and the group sings along with it.]_

_**LORENZO: You have come here in persuit of your deepest urge, in persuite of that wish, which 'till now, has been silent... silent... I have brought you, that our passions may fuse and merge. In your minds, you've already succumbed to me, dropped all defences, completely succumbed to me. Now you are here with me, no second thoughts. You've decided... decided... Past the point of no return. No backward glances. Our games of cat and mouse are at an end. Past all thought of escaping. No use resisting. Abandon thoughts like that, and I will win! Fiona, come to me and live beside me as my woman. Katie, stay with me and serve me... This, ladies, is our last bow, the final threshhold. What earm, unspoken secrets will we learn beyond the point of no retun?**_

_[He continues to stare at the two menecingly, and the girls take each other's hands, looking at each other for a breif second. Then, Katie squeezes Fiona's hand, and Fiona mentally takes the hint as they continue the song.]_

_**KATIE: You have brought us to that moment where words run dry, to that moment where speech dissapears into silence... silence...**_

_**FIONA: We have come here hardly knowing the reason why. In my mind, I've already imagine us loving each other, and sharing my Azoth. Now we are here with you, no second thoughts. We've decided... decided...**_

_**KATIE: Past the point of no return...**_

_**FIONA: No going back now...**_

_**BOTH: Our lives together will now, at last begin!**_

_**KATIE: Past all thought of right or wrong...**_

_**FIONA: One final question: How long should we two wait before we're one? When will my finger wear your ring? When will my wedding dress be worn? When will I hear you say you love me?**_

_[Fiona begins to walk over to Lorenzo, and he meets her half way, taking her in his grasp and holding her hands. Katie remains where she is.]_

_**ALL: Past the point of no return, the final threshold. The brdige is crossed, so stand and watch it burn. We've passed the point of no return...**_

_[Then, Lorenzo's faicel expression becomes softer as the music lightens, and he stares at Fiona, caressing her cheek.]_

_**LORENZO: Say you'll share with me your life, your Azoth. Lead me, save me from my solitude. Say you want me with you here, beside you... Anywhere you go, let me go, too. Fiona, that's all I ask of--**_

"BARK! BARK! BARK!"

Lorenzo didn't even have time to think as he turned in the direction of the barking, only to be met my Hewie, slamming him in the face, causing him to abruptly let go of Fiona and stumble into the pit below, screaming as he hit the lava.

"Hewie!" they both exclaimed as they rushed over to pet the dog.

"You rescued us again!" Fiona said.

"Aw, we love you, Hewie!" Katie added.

Hewie baked happily.

They both looked in the direction of the lava pit. "So, is this it?" Katie asked. "Is he really--"

Before she could finish her scentance, a flaming arm reached up from the pit, and gripped the floor to pull the rest of the body up. The girls screamed to the top of their lungs when Lorenzo came up, in the form of a flaming skeleton. He was yelling in pain.

"RUN!" they both hollared as they ran around the lava pit and down the hallway, leading to the door to their freedom.

"KATIE! FIONA!" Lorenzo's demented voice hollared behind them.

"Move!" Katie yelled as they picked up the pace, with Hewie in between them.

They were only a few feet away from the door, almost to their freedom, when suddenly, Lorenzo had a burst of speed, and his flaming body ran past them. He stood in front of the door, his firey arms outstretched as he screamed in both pain and anger.

The girls shivered in fear, and they were both holding back the urge to cry.

But the flames finally got the better of Lorenzo, and fell to his knees. He reached one flaming arm out to them, but fell on to the ground, on his stomach.

The girls breathed a sigh of releaf, and they finally let the tears flow.

"... AHHH!!!!!!!!" Then, Lorenzo jerked his head upward and screamed at them again, causing them to shriek in terror. But once again, the flames got the better of him, and he quieted down, giving in to his death. They watched as his skeleton turned into a pile of dust.

The girls breathed another sigh of relief. Fiona made an angry face at the pile of dust on the floor. "This time... you really are dead. You bastard." She looked at the shining bright door in front of them, then asked Katie, "Shall we go?"

"... Not yet, hold on." Katie ran back down the hall way with Fiona and Hewie behind her.

She retrieved the Azoth stone from it's hiding place, carried it over to the lava pit, and with a grunt, threw it into the lava with a splash, and a few sizzles. "There! Now we can go!"

* * *

THE POINT OF NO RETURN: from "THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA"


	20. FOR GOOD

Chapter Twenty

FOR GOOD

----------------------

Fiona fumbled with the key they had found earlier as she tried to open the lock.

"Calm down," Katie reassured her.

"I can't calm down. I wanna get out of this place!" She continued to fumble with the key.

Hewie wimpered, and the two girls looked at him, panting happilly with his tongue hanging out.

They smiled and laughed. "Thanks Hewie," Fiona said.

Katie took the hadn which held the key. "Here. I'll help you."

Fiona smiled back at her.

They calmed down and held each other steady as they placed the key in the lock, and slowly turned it. Then, they pushed the door open to see the forest, and there was a clear dirt path leading outside.

"We're free..." Fiona said breathlessly.

"Yeah... We're free..." She started giggling, then laughing loudly. "WE'RE FREE! WE'RE FINALLY FREE!"

Hewie barked happily, and Fiona also laughed a little.

Then, the laughter stopped, and they all looked at each other blankly.

"So... Why am I not really that happy?" Katie asked.

Fiona shrugged. "I don't know... Maybe it's because we really have nothing to go back to. My parents are dead, and all you have is a drunked dad--who isn't even your real father!"

Katie walked over to her and hugged her. "At least we have each other," she whispered.

Fiona hugged her back. "Of course... We'll always have each other."

Hewie barked.

They laughed. "And Hewie."

"Of course. Always Hewie."

They both pet him, making him pant.

Fiona walked over to the door, and pushed it open.

At that moment, small slicking sounds echoed in the air.

Katie jerked herself around and saw small, dark colored bumps in the door of the castle. They made clicked sounds as they opened up, and looked like little eye balls inside. "It's a trap!" she yelled as she darted out of the way just in time, as small, sharp darts flew out of the eyes. Katie threw herself on the ground and covered her face, waiting until she heard the sound of the darts hitting the door. When all was quiet, she rolled over, and her eyes widened as she gasped. Blood had been splattered on the door, and Fiona lay on the ground, bleeding in several placed.

"Fiona!" Katie yelled as she jumped to her feet and rushed over to her friend, who was obviously in pain. She rolled Fion on her back. The sarts had pierced quite a few holes in her, and she wouldn't stop bleeding, and was breathing heavilly. "Fiona?" Katie asked shakilly.

Fiona chuckled as she looked up at Katie. "It figures... Here we were almost out, and... I should have been more careful."

Katie shook her head. "I can get you out of here. I'll carry you."

"And how will you stop the bleeding?" she asked meekly.

"I'll think of something," Katie replied, determined.

Fiona slowly shook her head. "Just leave me here..."

"What?!"

"You heard me... I've survived enough of this nightmare... And I'll die peacefully knowing that Lorenzo is gone, and that you are safe."

Katie shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. "No... Fiona, I need you. You're all I have left!"

"Not true... You have Hewie..."

Hewie walked up to them and laid down next to Fiona, whimpering sadly.

Fiona pet him. "It's okay, boy... You have to look after her now." She reached her hand up to touch Katie's cheek.

_[At this point, the song "For Good" from "Wicked" begins, and the two sing along with it.]_

_**FIONA: I'm dying now... Just look at me... I'm dying now. But look at you, you can do all I cannot do, Katie... So now it's up to you... for both of us... Now it's up to you...**_

_[Katie reached her hand up and places it over Fiona's hand on her cheek.]_

"Fiona... please listen to me... You have to know that... I..."

_**KATIE: I've heard it said, that people come into our lives for a reason, sharing something we must learn. And we are led to those who help us most to grow, if we let them, and if we help them in return. Well, I don't know if I believe that's true. But I know I'm who I am today because I knew you. Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes the sun, like a stream that meets a bolder half was through the wood. Who can say if I've been changed for the better? But, because I knew you, I have been changed for good.**_

_**FIONA: I'm sad to say that we will never meet again in this lifetime, so let me say before we part, so much of me is made of what I learned from you. You'll be with me like a handprint on my heart. And now, despite the way our stories end, I know you have re-written mine by being my friend. Like a ship blown from it's mooring by a wind of the sea, like a seed dropped by a skybird in a distant wood. Who can say if I've been changed for the better. But because I knew you...**_

_**KATIE: Because I knew you...**_

_**BOTH: I have been changed for good...**_

_**FIONA: And just to clear the air, I ask forgiveness for all I've done you blame me for.**_

_**KATIE: But then, I guess we know there's blame to share.**_

_**BOTH: And none of it seems to matter anymore...**_

_**KATIE: Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes the sun, like a stream that meets a bolder half was through the wood...**_

_**FIONA: Like a ship blown from it's mooring by a wind of the sea, like a seed dropped by a skybird in a distant wood...**_

_**BOTH: Who can say if I've been changed for the better? I do believe that I've been changed for the better...**_

_**KATIE: And because I knew you...**_

_**FIONA: Because I knew you...**_

_**BOTH: Because I knew you, I have been changed for good!**_

Katie sighed as tears fell from her face, and Fiona smiled meekly at her. "What are you thinking about, Fiona?"

Fiona closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm thinking about... a car ride..." she replied happily. "I'm in the back seat of my parents car. Daddy's driving, and Mom is sitting beside him... And you're sitting next to me, with Hewie lying on our feet on the floor... We're so happy..."

Katie sniffled. "Where are we driving to?"

"... Heaven."

Katie began to quietly sob. "Say hi to Daddy for me. And if you see my mom, tell her I said I love her."

"I will..."

Then, she was perfectly still, her smile fading from her lovely face, and her hand dropped from Katie's face to the ground.

Katie swallowed hard. "I can't just leave you here... You hated this place."

"BARK! BARK! BARK!"

Katie looked up and out the open doors, she was so preocupied that she didn't notice Hewie leave. She gently placed Fiona's head on the ground, and ran over to see what he was doing.

The hole he had dug was a good few feet deep. She looked down at the dog, who seemed so wise. Then, she dried her eyes and looked around. The castle was no in sight, which meant that this was the perfect spot. She ran back up the path to retireve Fiona.

A few minutes later, Katie and Hewie had finished covering up the un-marked grave. Katie kissed her hand and placed it on the freshly pressed soil before she stood up. Then, she began walking down the path, with Hewie beside her.

**oOo**

_[As Katie walks down the path, the scene changes, and everything appears to dissolve and changes to a scene from present day, five years later.]_

**oOo**

"Hewie! Don't jump out of the window!" Katie said, not taking her eyes off the road as she was driving along the familiar road. She was holding his collar as he was sticking his head out the window. she still couldn't believe that she was back home. When she movied to Maryland five years ago, she never imagine coming back here--especially on this road. But when her drunked dad finally died, legalities needed to be taken care of, and she needed to be present for them.

Then, she had to stop the car before she turned to drive down the hill. She released Hewie's collar and stared straight ahead. This road, and this spot, would forever be etched in her memory. There was no car wreck this time, but a clean path. She didn't dare look to her left, where the woods were, for that was the direction where the... place was.

"BARK! BARK! BARK!" Hewie exclaimed, then he jumped out the window, and took off through the woods.

Katie almost had a heart attack when she saw the direction he was going in. "Hewie! No!" She yelled as she turned the car off, unbuckled, and got out, running after him through the woods.

* * *

FOR GOOD: from "WICKED"

P.S. One more chapter left!


	21. THINK OF ME

Chapter Twenty-One

THINK OF ME

----------------------------

The beautiful bed or roses was growing right above the un-marked grave. Katie sat next to the flowers, inhaling their beautiful scent. "Hi Fiona," she whispered, as though she were beside a tomb stone. "These are beautiful flowers... Do you like them? I never found out if you liked flowers or not..." She smiled. "I miss you, sometimes... I'm sorry I haven't been back to visit, but coming back home--especially to this place--is hard for me..."

_[At this point, the song "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" from "The Phantom Of The Opera" begins.]_

_**KATIE: You were once my one companion. We fought on together. You became a friend and sister. Then my world was shattared. Wishing you were somehow here again. Wishing you were somehow near. Sometimes it seems if I just dream, somehow, you would be here. Wishing I couldn hear your voice again, knowing that I never would. Dream of you won't help me to do all that you dreamed I could. Fallen feinds and Azoth stones, cold and monumental, seem for you the wrong companions. You were warm and gentle...**_

_[She stands up and begins walking down the path to look for Hewie, and as she turns a corner, the castle appears, looming over her. She walks through the open gate, which she had left open five years earlier.]_

_**KATIE: ... Too many years fighting back tears. Why can't the past just die? Wishing you were somehow here again. Knowing we must say good-bye. Try to forgive, teach me to live, give me the strength to try. No more nightmares, no more silent tears, no more thinking about your stolen years. Help me say good-bye...**_

The place really hadn't changed all that much, maybe because no one had come to tend to it. However, there were bow beautiful flowers growing all around the court yard. Other than that, nothing had really changed. "I wonder who planted those flowers," she said to herself.

"BARK! BARK! BARK!"

She jumped at the sound of Hewie barking, and jerked her head around until she stopped him, crouching down next to a tree, staring back at her with large, brown eyes. She held out her hand to calm the dog down. "Easy, boy… We have to go now."

Hewie got up, and with one more loud bark, the dog took off bounding away from her and the tree. Katie watched as it ran until it came to the dead end wall, then headed down the flight of stairs to the butchery room.

She took off running after him.

**oOo**

Remarkably, the place had been cleaned of all blood. There were no carcases hanging around, and it appeared to have been converted into a storage room. Hewie was in the corner, nudging his nose at something.

She rushed over to him. "Hewie! Bad dog!" This was the first time she ever had to say that to him in the last five years. She was almost crying. "Why in the world would you make me come back here--to this terrible place?!"

He continued to sniff at... whatever it was he was sniffing.

"What is it, boy?" She looked to see that he was nudging at a large, old looking sheet. She was very hesitant, but grabbed hold of the sheet and pulled it away, to find a large painted portrait of a young man.

Even though she had the vision long ago, it was still fresh in her mind. The young king of Belli Castle looked so handsome, with his silver hair and glistening eyes. "Lorenzo must have taken this down years ago," she said to herself. Then, she noticed a small, gold inscription at the bottom of the portrait:

HIS MAJESTY, KING HEWBERT BELLI THE 1st

MORE AFFECTIONATELY KNOWN AS "HEWIE"

Katie's eyes widened as she slowly turned to look at her dog friend, who was sitting her, almost smiling at her... if a dog could smile, that is. "... Hewie?" she asked. "What does this mean?"

He walked over to her and nudged up against her. As she pet him, she felt a warm sensation on her chest and immediatly looked down.

There was the light again.

"Hewie?!" she exclaimed as the light engulfed them, taking them into the new vision.

_**oOo**_

_Lorenzo snuck into the king's quarters that night, where he slept in his king sized bed. For a moment, Lorenzo stood above him, looking down at him angrilly. Then, he slowly bent down, his hand hovering above the king's mouth. Then, he abruptly clamped his hand over the king's mouth, causing him to wake up immediatly. The poor king struggled, but Lorenzo held him down. He reached into his pocket, taking out a small stone, grinning menacingly. "Go home to my wife, indeed." He said as he pressed the stone to the king's chest. "This will get you out of the way indefinately!"_

_At that moment, a bright light surrounded the king, and he appeared to... shapeshift into a new shape. The king's grumbled cries slowly morphed into animal whimpers. When the light faded away, Lorenzo laughed loudly as she white German shephard jumped down from the bed, and ran out of the room._

_"Long live King Hewbert!" Lorenzo declared as he laughed even louder._

_**oOo**_

"Oh my... Hewie... You were... You're the--"

Hewie barked loudly, and also nodded his head.

She sighed, surprised. "Well... Why are you telling me this?" Then, her eyes widened at the realization that her Azoth was still glowing. "Oh... I see."

He barked again.

She smiled. "Well, if it was an Azoth that turned you into this, then maybe I can change you back..." She held out her arms. "Come here, boy!"

Hewie happily ran up to her and jumped into her arms, and the light grew even stronger...

"Katie?" a young man's gentle voice said. "Are you okay?"

Katie opened her eyes to find that the light had faded away, but she was holding someone in her arms. She slowly looked up in awe at the young king. As she held his hands, he felt quite solid, but he looked transparent, like a ghost. "King Hewbert..." She gulped. "Hewie?"

He nodded. "Yes, Katie. It's me. Look... Ruff, ruff!" He chuckled.

She stared at him with her mouth wide open. "For the last five years... It's always been... I mean... I don't have the words for this!"

He threw his head back and laughed. "That's okay. It's hard to find the words for any of this!" His voice had a slight echo. He frowned. "Please... Let me apologize."

"For what?"

"For not being able to tell you about me sooner. And..." He made and angry face. "... I humbly appologize for all of the dimented horrors that you and Fiona had to experiance in MY castle!" He took a deep breath. "More than five-hundred years ago, I was a very young king, and I felt as though a lot of weight was on my shoulders. I didn't want to do anything to jerperdize my people, or my kingdom. So, when Lorenzo came to me with his radical notions abouts the Azoth, I had to tell him to leave. But I never expected him to turn me into a dog!"

She laughed.

"Anyway, I hid away in the castle all that time, staying alive by using the energy of the Azoth stones. I told myself that I was not going to let myself die until Lorenzo was punished. I waited five-hundred years..." He smiled. "And then, one day, I saw Debilitas carry an unconcious young woman into the castle, and into the butchery room. Of course, there was nothing I could do to help her. But then, another young woman appeared at my castle's door. I knew that I had to protect these two girls, or else I would never be able to forgive myself." He forned again. "When Fiona was killed, I felt as though I had failed her, despite us surviving everything else. So, I decided to stay with you and protect you, to make up for Fiona..."

"But how were you able to stay alive when I destroyed the Azoth stone?"

He gently took her hand and placed it on her chest. "Your own Azoth is what has kept me alive all of this time. However, I could only stay alive in the form I was in--a dog. Now that I am human again..."

She gasped silently. "You're leaving me?"

He shook his head. "No! Never! I'll always be with you. You may not know it, but I'll be there." He smiled brightly. "I'll be in your memories... Remember that time you tried to give me a bath?"

She raised and eyebrow and chuckled. "Yeah. You shook all over and made a wet, spoapy mess of my bathroom!"

He shrugged. "What can I say? I don't like that much soap in my hair... What about the time we were taking a walk in the park? You heard a crow cawing as it flew by..."

"And I shreiked... It brought up some bad memories. I had to sit down on a park bench to calm down."

"And I jumped up and laid my head on your lap to calm you down."

She nodded. "Yeah, thanks for that, by the way."

"And what about recently, when you woke up screaming in the morning?"

She closed her eyes. "Yeah, it was so good to see you there. I knew I was safe..." She felt her face scrunch up, as she was sbout to cry. When she opened her eyes, tears came falling down, and he pulled her in for a hug. "Hewie... Who will comfort me when you're not there?"

"I can still be there for you..."

"How? You're leaving me..."

"No... Not really." He placed his hand on her cheek and raised her head up, to look into her eyes. "Katie, you know that I love you, right?"

She nodded. "Yes... I love you, too."

"I know... And I loved Fiona very much. And I came up with this method for whenever I missed her. I simply thought about her, and the happy times we shared."

"Happy? There was nothing happy about that experiance!"

"Of course there was!... When we all first met, I could tell that you two didn't really see eye to eye. But when we were in the movie projector room, you both put aside your differences and agreed to get along... That made me happy. And even before you found out that you were sisters, you two were starting to love each other. That was wonderful!"

Katie released more tears. "I did love her... And I never got a chance to tell her..."

He smiled wide. "You'll be able to tell her... I have a feeling that you'll tell her soon..."

She looked at him in bewilderment. "What does that mean?"

"Never mind it for now... Katie, what I want you to do, whenever you think you need me--or Fiona--is to simply think of me, and I'll be right there."

_[At this point, the song "Think Of Me" from "The Phantom Of The Opera" begins to play.]_

_**HEWIE: Think of me. Think of me fondly when we've said good-bye. Remember me every so often. Promise me you'll try. On that day, yes each every day, that you are crying out for me, if you ever find a moment, spare a thought for me.**_

_**KATIE: And though it's clear, though it was always clear, that you would one day have to leave, if you ever find a moment, stop and think of me. Think of all the things we've shared and seen. Don't think about the way things might have been. Think of me, think of me waking silent and resigned. I promise you, you will never be too far from my mind. Recall those days, look back on all those times, think of the things we loved to do. There will never be a day when I won't think of you!**_

Hewie smiled wider as he kissed her on the forehead, stepped back, and winked. Then, he faded completely away, and he was gone.

Katie dried her eyes and smiled wide as she towards the stairs, and back up to where the sunlight was. She quickly dashed towards the door of the castle, ran outside, and began to run back down the dirt road.

Then, she heard the double doors creak from behind her.

She whirled around, and there he was. the one person whom she never thought about being alive in all these years. She started at him, frightened at what he might do, and in return, he stared back with wide, brown eyes. Then, he bowed just before he closed the double doors completely, locking them from the inside. She sighed with relief, as she knew that once she left here taking her Azoth with her, he would soon die. "Goodbye Debilitas," she whispered before continuing her run down the dirty path.

**oOo**

She ran until she made it to the flower bed of roses, and skidded to a stop, eyes wide, and mouth open.

There she was, standing there with a bright smile on her face, and she was also transparent, like Hewie. Behind her was a familiar man and two woman.

"Ugo... Daddy? Mom?... Ayla?"

Fiona began to sing.

_**FIONA: Can it be?... Can it be Katie? Long ago, it was so long ago, you were the sister that I knew. You need not worry, my friend. We've not forgotten you.**_

The two girls walked towards each other, meeting each other half way. For a moment, they stood there, not saying a thing, but smiling. Then, they wrapped their arms around each other in a hug.

"I love you Fiona," Katie said.

"I love you too," she replied.

They turned to look at the other three. "We love all of you!"

"We know," Ugo said.

"We love you," Katie's mother said.

Ayla nodded. "Always..."

Katie smiled, and she and Fiona giggled happily.

"Come on now, Fiona! Time to go!" Ayla said.

Fiona ran back over to the three and looked back at Katie one more time, and Fiona waved at her as they faded away.

Katie took off running back down the road, through the woods, back up to the road, and got back into her car. She buckled up, turned the engine on, and looked back in the direction of the castle one final time, as she would not be coming back. As the car drove away, Katie concluded the song.

_**KATIE: Flowers fade, the fruits of summer fade. They have their seasons, so do we. But please promise that sometimes, you will think of me!**_

**oOo**

_**KATIE AND FIONA:**_

_**Who can say if I've been changed for the better, but...**_

_**Because I knew you...**_

_**Because I knew you...**_

_**I have been changed...**_

_**For good...**_

**oOo**

**THE END**

* * *

WISHING YOU WERE SOMEHOW HERE AGAIN: from "THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA"

THINK OF ME: from "THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA"

FOR GOOD: from "WICKED"


	22. Bonus IT'S ALL COMING BACK TO ME

BONUS CHAPTER

It's All Coming Back To Me Now

---------------------------

_One year later..._

**oOo**

CLAP!

The thunder roared outside, and lightning lit up the night for a split second.

"AHH!" Katie screamed as she jolted upright in bed. She sat there, breathing in deep breaths, then realized that she was still in her room. Breathing a sigh of releaf, she reached over beside her to stroak the fur of her faithful canine friend, but was surprised to feel only the pillow. A wide eyed look came across her face as she jerked her head to look beside her, seeing her hand placed on the pillow. She wondered where she was, then quickly remembered. The shocked expression dropped from her face, and was replaced with a look of sorrow and loneliness.

Hewie, who was really King Hewbert Belli, was her faithful companion for so long, since the days that she and Fiona were trapped in that place... That place... She shook her head, shaking the the thoughts away. If she tried to remember now, then she would never get back to sleep.

She got up from her bed and walked over to the window. The rain was pounding against the glass, and the lightning was flashing in the distance. It was nights like these when she needed Hewie the most, and he wasn't here.

_**KATIE: Think of me... Think of me fondly... when we've said...**_

Another flash of lightning, and with it, Katie began to sob, letting her tears fall freely. Their song, their memories--they weren't helping, and she felt herself sinking deeper into the hole of loneliness.

It wasn't fair. Why did she have to loose Hewie, too? She beat herself up every day for using her Azoth to change him back, but it was what he wanted. If she hadn't, then she would have been no better than Riccardo or Lorenzo... Those two names left a horrible taste in her mouth just thinking about them.

But now, she was lonely. And despite her efforts to think of Hewie in times like these, it only made her worse.

"... Katie," an echoing, whispering voice said from behind her.

Katie's eyes flew open and she whirled around. There he was, the handsome young man that she only glimped once in her life. The man, who in a much different form, once protected her and Fiona from the terrible dangers they were forced to face. Yet, he was ghostly, and you could see through him.

_[At this point, the song "It's All Coming Back To Me Now" begins.]_

_**HEWIE: There were nights when the wind was so cold, that your body froze in bed if you just listened to it, right outside the window...**_

_**KATIE: There were days when the sun was so crul, that all the tears turned to dust, and I just knew my eyes were drying up forever.**_

She opened her eyes again, now staring at him sternly as they sang together.

_**BOTH: You/I started crying in the instant that you/I left, and you/I can't understand where, or whem, or why. But you/I banished every memory you and I had ever made.**_

He stepped forward, placing a ghostly hand on the side of her face, of which she could not feel. Yet, she slowly reached up, placing her hand over his, and her palm felt the back of his hand, and he smiled gently. She smiled back, closing her eyes for a brief moment.

_**HEWIE: But if I touch you like this...**_

_**KATIE: Touch me like this...**_

_**HEWIE: And you hold me like that...**_

_**KATIE: Hold you like that...**_

_**BOTH: It's so hard to accept, but it's all coming back to me. It's all coming back, it's all coming back to me now. There were moments of hope, and there were serges of fright. There were nights of endless terror, it was more than anyone should see!**_

**oOo**

At that moment, Katie opened her eyes, and was shocked to find that their surroundings had changed. She jerked her head around, realizing that they were no longer in her bedroom. They were standing in the middle of the grim courtyard that she knew too well. She looked up at the castle in front of them, and gasped. She looked back at Hewie, who had a calm and comforting expression on his face.

_**KATIE: Hewie...**_

_**HEWIE: Katie, when you're cowering like this, and when you're shaking with fear, I know that it is hard, but please let me come back to you. When you're lonely like this, and when you're frightened like that, you're not really alone. I will always be here with you. Our most pleasent memories, let them come back to you. I know that it might hurt, but please let me come back to you now!**_

**oOo**

At that moment, there was a flash of light, making Katie cover her eyes. When she looked again, she was now inside the castle, standing in a familiar looking room. There was faint piano music playing, and she realized where she was.

_"A key!"_

She whirled around to see two familiar figures standing in front of a table. One of them was a younger version of herself, the other was Fiona, the sister that she had gained and lost durring that experiance. She reached out to both of them, only to be surprised to see that her arm now looked ghostly and transparent, just like Hewie.

Then, all of a sudden, the piano stopped playing, and the two frightened girls looks around in bewilderment.

"_Ah, Fiona. I see you've finally awakened… And you even have a little friend with you."_

"_Who are you?" Katie called out._

_Riccardo ignored her, and continued speaking. "There's something that I've wanted to show you for quite some time. Pull away that sheet behind you…"_

Katie looked away as Fiona pulled away the sheet, revealing the strange statue. She had seen it once, and didn't need to see it again. It was hard enough handling hearing Riccardo's voice again. But somehow, she knew that this wasn't real, because this had already happened. Riccardo was dead... So, why was she being forced to relive this?

"_Beautiful, isn't it? That, my dear, is what you will become in the future… Go ahead… You may touch it. You will be mine, Fiona!" His laughter echoed in the room._

Then, the two girls faded away and dissapeared, along with the sound of laughter. Katie stood there, confused for a moment.

"Katie..."

Katie's eyes widened. The gentleness of Fiona's voice would never be forgotten. She slowly turned around to see Fiona, no longer in the strange clothing that she had to wear in the castle, but wearing a white blouse, with a peach colored skirt, and matching sandles. Her short, blonde hair was in a small pony tail, and she stepped forward to take Katie's hand.

_**KATIE: There were his emtpy threats and hallow lies. But whenever he tried to hurt us, we just hurt him even worse, and so much deeper...**_

Katie nodded, remembering how Riccardo fell off of the tower, onto the bride, to his death, screaming out Fiona's name.

_**KATIE: There were hours that just went on for days. In the end, I was forced to count up all the chances that were lost to us forever.**_

_**BOTH: We started over as we left this place behind. And we made ourselves so strong again, somehow. And we never wasted any of our time on these events...**_

Fiona's facial expression grew soft as more tears came falling out of Katie's eyes.

_**FIONA: But when you're weeping like this...**_

_**KATIE: Weeping like this...**_

_**FIONA: And when you're crying like that...**_

_**KATIE: Crying like that...**_

_**FIONA: I was gone with the wind, but I have to come back to you. When your mind wanders back, when your dreams wake you up in the night, think of me, and please let me come back to you. I'll always be there--always be there for you now. The brief moments we shared, when we finally were friends, all the plans that we made that seemed to have no end. And the time we spent together, though imperfect, was a gift to us.**_

**oOo**

Another flash of light, and this time, Hewie was standing with them, smiling. They were also outside the gates of the castle, now free of it's grim memories and horrors.

_**KATIE: Fiona!**_

_**FIONA: Katie!**_

_**BOTH: Hewie!**_

_**KATIE: If we stand here like this...**_

_**FIONA: Stand here like this...**_

_**KATIE: If we remember like that...**_

_**HEWIE: Remember like that...**_

_**KATIE: My memories wake up, and it's all coming back to me. I'm so sorry for this...**_

_**HEWIE: Sorry for this...**_

_**KATIE: For trying to block you out...**_

_**FIONA: Block us out...**_

_**KATIE: But I now understand that you'll always be here with me. Whenever I need you, you'll be sure to be here with me.**_

_**ALL: The friendship we shared will forever be here with us. Our bond, forever stong. And it's all coming back...**_

_**KATIE: ... to me now!**_

**oOo**

Katie lay there, now awake, and the sunlight was beaming in through the window. Birds were chirping outside, and she sat up, stretching out her arms and getting out of bed with a smile on her face. She walked over to the window and looked out at the beautiful sunlight.

"I broke my promise," she spoke quietly. "It's not that I never wanted to think of you... It's just that it hurt me so much..." She smiled wider. "But I now know... You'll always be here with me, even in my darkest hour, so close to me heart..."

As she completed the song, she heard Hewie's and Fiona's voice singing with her, in her heart.

_**KATIE: If you forgive me all this...**_

_**FIONA: Give you all this...**_

_**KATIE: As I remember all that...**_

_**HEWIE: Remember all that...**_

_**KATIE: I have no regrets, and it's all coming back to me now...**_

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Surprise! I've written one more bonus chapter! I know that I didn't need to post one more chapter of this story, but what Katie went through was tramatic, and it seemed too easy to just let her go on living without being bothered by her loneliness once in a while after Hewie left. Plus, after listening to this song, I wanted to use it somewhere in this story, and I thought that this might be a cool way of doing so. It's my way of giving this story two happy endings, hopefully. If readers don't like it, I'll remove it... I don't think that there will be any more chapters after this one, so I hope you enjoyed this surprise!

IT'S ALL COMING BACK TO ME NOW: by "Pandora's Box" - "Celine Dion" - "Meatloaf and Marion Raven"


End file.
